STATUTORY WARNING

~A blog on World No Tobacco day by Arin Saha

“Roam the streets of India, and you will find one in four people consuming tobacco on a regular basis.”

Introduction and dangers

Cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), emphysema, tuberculosis — sounds deadly right? Sounds deadlier coming out of your doctor’s mouth when you are in the hospital bed, regretting your addiction. Yes, these all are just a few (out of a lot of) consequences of consuming tobacco. It is one of the deadliest things that people, almost all of the time, willingly consume to gain a euphoric feeling. It’s a highly addictive substance, which leads to disability and harm to nearly every organ in the body.

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According to WHO, tobacco is accountable for more than 8 million deaths per year, including 1.2 million deaths resulting from passive smoke exposure. This is about one in six deaths annually. As much as we are responsible for our lives, we also affect each other’s lives as well when it comes to these things. People often overlook the depth of the risks these drugs have. It is often advised to be 25–30 feet away from a tobacco source.

Think about your loved ones or the kids you see everyday playing in the local park, they could be victims to second-hand exposure. What about that guy in college that got into it because you jokingly encouraged him? Yes, peer pressure is one of the five dominant reasons people start smoking. Addiction, it holds the power to destroy a person inside out. They end up in miserable situations that one cannot imagine.

Environmental harm

Still not convinced? Think about the environment. A constant reply to the above statements has always been:

“I won’t smoke in public” or

“I don’t want to live a long life”.

Tobacco not only causes harm to the human body, but the environment as well. For this year’s “World no-tobacco day”, WHO has put up great points and has given the world one more reason to quit tobacco, and you’ve guessed it right. Think about it, once tobacco is grown in a place of land, it’s impossible to have any other plantation in that area, basically destroying the land. Think about the countries which are still in development-phase, for them it’s a big loss. The spread of smoking to developing countries and the increase in tobacco consumption have had several adverse effects: an increase in lung cancer and other smoking-related diseases; an increase in economic burdens resulting from imports of cigarettes from developed countries and increased medical costs for smoking-related diseases; and decreases in production and import of foods. And guess where the production of tobacco is the highest? Touché.

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Tobacco’s Maladies

The above mentioned diseases are not even the start of it. Smoking causes more deaths than HIV, illegal drug use, alcohol use, motor vehicle injuries, firearm-related injuries combined. Here are some of its effects:

• Increases the risk of coronary heart diseases by 2 to 4 times
• Increases the risk of stroke by 2 to 4 times
• Increases the risk of developing lung cancer by around 25 times
• Is a major reason for coronary heart diseases.
• Damages blood vessels and can make them thicken and grow narrower. This makes your heart beat faster and your blood pressure go up as a result of which clots can form.
• Causes lung diseases like COPD, which includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis.
• Can cause cancer to any of the following: bladder, blood (acute myeloid leukemia), cervix, colon and rectum (colorectal), esophagus, kidney and ureter, larynx, liver, oropharynx (includes parts of the throat, tongue, soft palate, and the tonsils), pancreas, stomach, trachea, bronchus, and lung.

Curbing the addiction

Roam the streets of India, and you will find one in four people (15 years and above) consuming tobacco on a regular basis. India and Bangladesh also have the highest rates of oral cancer among the world despite tobacco consumption being the single most readily preventable cause of death. Although hope exists, as many people who know the dangers of tobacco want to quit, but, it’s easier said than done.

However, it won’t be fair if after giving all these reasons to quit tobacco, I won’t tell you how to do it.

1. Find a reason: If you stop tobacco out-of-the blue, it shows your strong willpower, but it won’t hold long. You need a strong reason to go along with it. Maybe for your family? Maybe a near-death experience? Or maybe just to feel that youthfulness again.
2. Preparation before going ‘cold turkey’: Don’t underestimate an addiction. It’s much harder than just tossing your cigarettes down in the dustbin. There will be withdrawals, there will be pain. Prepare accordingly with a doctor before about methods which might come in handy, be it counselling, medication or even classes!
3. Try nicotine replacement therapy: Well, yes you’ll be still taking nicotine, but this method is medically proven and a recommendation by many if ‘cold turkey’ isn’t for you.
4. Don’t go for it alone: Open up about your plans to family and friends, that’s what they are there for right? Supporting you in times of need. A little encouragement here and there will go a long way. You can also join a support group or communities online that will help you.
5. Have new stressbusters ready: A major reason for smoking addiction is it being a stress buster. After you quit, your stress will continue to haunt you, so it’s better to be prepared. A hobby you always wanted to pursue, exercising, blasting your favorite songs 24/7 are some of the few ways that can help.
6. Avoid triggers: One of the basic tips, but definitely not a light one. Switch/limit the habits that tempt you to smoke, drinking being one of the most common ones. Maybe you like to smoke after your afternoon coffee? Have tea instead, maybe go out for a walk with a friend/colleague, who knows it may be a start to a great relationship ahead.
7. Clean: After you’ve finally started your journey, follow it up with cleaning your house, washing all the clothes/carpets/curtains/upholstery that have that dreaded smell in it. Clean your car if you’ve smoked in it too.
8. Have a healthy diet: Don’t go on a diet after quitting. Too much deprivation can easily backfire. Keep things simple and try to eat more fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean protein. These are good for your body.
9. Reward yourself: Apart from saving yourself and the world, you’ll be saving money too. What’s stopping you from doing something fun? Or maybe, save that money, you’re never gonna regret it.
10. Don’t give up, remember time is your friend: After only 20 minutes of quitting, your heart rate goes back to normal. Within a day, your blood’s carbon monoxide level also falls back into place. In just 2–3 weeks, you will start to lower your odds of having a heart attack. In the long run, you will also lower your chance of getting lung cancer and other cancers. Never give up. It takes people several tries before giving up smoking for good. Don’t be discouraged after a light up, instead think what led you to that decision, what were your emotions, or the setting you were in, and try again harder!

Conclusion

Image Source: https://medicalxpress.com

I’m Not Telling You It Is Going To Be Easy, I’m Telling You It’s Going To Be Worth It.

-Arthur L. “Art” Williams Jr.

Pages can still be filled if I went on to write about all the complications tobacco has, but I hope that the impact has been felt. Time to go start pestering the people you know who are victims of this horrible addiction.

After all this, it’s still not an easy job to quit tobacco, you have to keep doing it, there will be times when you fail, times when you just want to throw it all away, times that you can’t even put into words. But if you conquer that time, you’ll be the top dog.

Take a pledge this “World no-tobacco day” 2022 and start yourself anew.

Get To Know The Author:

Instagram: @arin841