As a matter of fact we all know about the ill-effects of cigarette smoking and tobacco use but a smoker, in reality, is helpless in situation of an addiction. Smoking is one of the worst human habits that a person can have. None of the much flaunted appeals of cigarette advertisers such as superior taste and mildness induces us to become smokers or to choose one brand in preference to another. Despite the emphasis put on such qualities by advertisers there are minor considerations that are taken into account when a person decides on smoking. It is not the taste that counts; it's the sense of satisfaction you get from a cigarette that you can't get from anything else.
Why Do We Smoke?
Some say that smoking is fun. Smoking for many of us has become a substitute for our early habit of following the whims of the moment, it has become a good excuse for interrupting work and snatching a moment of pleasure, while some say that with a cigarette I am never alone and for some it relives their troubles. Many take up smoking as status symbol or what we today call it “Generation X” style. Ask a smoker and he will give you thousands of such reasons. Most people begin smoking as teens, generally because of peer pressure and curiosity. Also people with friends and/or parents who smoke are more likely to take up smoking than those who don't. Another prevalent influence in our society is the tobacco industry's ads and other promotional activities for its products. The tobacco industry spends billions of dollars each year to create and market ads that show smoking as an exciting, glamorous, and healthy adult activity.
Smoking Effects
Nobody needs to be told the ill effects of the smoking. Even then, smokers find it very hard to give up smoking permanently. Nicotine an integral part of cigarette is an addictive substance. One of the major issues related to smoking is the effect which it has on the human body. Cigarette smoking is one of the major killers in the world. With smoking comes its age old partner – cancer. Cancer is a group of many related diseases. The risk of dying from lung cancer is 22 times higher for male and 12 times higher for female smokers as oppose to nonsmokers. Researchers have also proven that mothers who smoke while pregnancy or before they got pregnant usually give birth to babies with birth defects who are premature or are underweight. Smoking during pregnancy is linked with a greater chance of miscarriage, premature delivery, stillbirth, infant death, low birth weight, and sudden infant death syndrome.Up to 10% of infant deaths would be prevented if pregnant women did not smoke. The nicotine, carbon monoxide, and other harmful chemicals enter her bloodstream, pass directly into the baby's body, and prevent the baby from getting essential nutrients and oxygen for growth.On average someone who smokes a pack or more of cigarettes each day lives 7 years less than someone who never smoked. Smoking at an early age increases the risk of lung cancer. Smoking has a permanent effect on the following parts of a human body even if you have smoked for only five years - lungs, heart, throat, eyes, sex organs, digestive organs, bones and joints, skin. People who regularly smoke may find their memories growing hazy over time.
Passive Smoking
How many people have been walking around in a public place and been bombarded with a thick cloud of smoke surrounding them? The truth is many of us have been in this situation. The smokers along with causing health problems for themselves are also affecting the people who do not smoke . A recent study says that passive smokers are more prone to diseases than a person who smokes.Some of the immediate effects of passive smoking include eye irritation, headache, cough, sore throat, dizziness and nausea. Non-smokers who are exposed to passive smoking in the home have a 25 per cent increased risk of heart disease and lung cancer.
Benefits for Quitting Smoking?
There are immediate benefits from quitting smoking. Within eight hours after you quit the level of dangerous carbon monoxide gas in the blood returns to normal. Also within the next 24 hours your chances of having a heart attack begin to decrease. Within the next two to three weeks you can expect to experience even more health benefits from quitting smoking. Your lung function will increase by 30 percent and within one year your risk of coronary heart disease will have dropped by half and after 10 years your chances of dying from lung cancer will have dropped by about one half. But one thing you can be sure of that if you decide to quit smoking today you will definitely be healthier tomorrow. You can say bye to yellow fingernails and a wrinkled face as well as decrease your chances of getting cancer and heart disease. Also nowadays there are certain medicines available which can help you to stop smoking. But ultimately all this will not work until the smoker takes an initiative by himself to stop smoking. Every year thousands of people are dying due to consumption of tobacco its time people realise what is good for them or it will cost them their lives! Many ex-smokers did not succeed at first but they kept trying. So DON'T GIVE UP and MAKE IT HAPPEN FOR YOU!
Written by: Pooja Churiwalla, Head Teacher, Kangaroo Kids, Kolkata
