Sahil Manzoor Bhatti;
Even though people read the warning printed on cigarette packets—“Smoking is injurious to health”—many still smoke. Smoking kills. Smoking causes cancer. It is unfortunate that people continue this habit despite knowing its harmful effects. Day by day, even those below 18 years of age are able to buy and smoke these dreadful, health-destroying cigarettes. There should be stricter controls on smoking, and health departments must strengthen cessation programmes and continue warning people about the lethal effects of tobacco on health.
Adverse Impacts of Tobacco Consumption
Smoking Causes Lethal Health Issues in Society
Tobacco belongs to the nightshade family and is cultivated for its dried leaves. Tobacco plants grow 1 to 3 metres tall and produce more than ten broad leaves. These leaves are dried, processed, and used to manufacture cigars, cigarettes, and other products that are extremely harmful to human health.
Cigarettes contain about 4,000 chemicals, of which 43 are carcinogenic (cancer-causing). These include polycyclic hydrocarbons, ammonia (which causes cellular irritation), formaldehyde, and oxides of nitrogen. Carbon monoxide is one of the most dangerous and poisonous gases, as it reduces the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood and seriously affects smokers worldwide.
It is believed that in 1492, when Christopher Columbus landed on Tobago Island, he observed that natives were using dried tobacco leaves for pleasure. Since then, tobacco has spread across the world in different forms such as chewing tobacco, cigars, and cigarettes.
Nicotine is present in tobacco leaves and is the main active component. It has harmful effects on human health, as it can cause heart attacks and damage the nervous system. Although nicotine has some limited medical and agricultural uses, it is highly addictive and makes a person dependent, unhealthy, irritable, unhygienic, and short-tempered.
Tobacco contains tar, which causes lung cancer and many other diseases. Active smokers are ten times more likely to die from lung cancer than non-smokers. The combination of carbon monoxide and nicotine temporarily increases heart rate and blood pressure and can lead to strokes. Carbon monoxide also reduces oxygen supply to muscles and the brain.
Consuming tobacco in different forms can trigger irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Smoking can disturb digestion and cause intestinal irritation.
Smoking is not only harmful to active smokers; it also affects passive smokers. It causes coughing, sneezing, eye irritation, and severely pollutes the environment.
Every year on 31st May, Anti-Smoking Day is celebrated across the globe. Seminars and anti-tobacco campaigns are organised in schools, colleges, and public places. In this article, I have highlighted the lethal health hazards caused by cigarette smoking.
As responsible citizens, we must understand the factors that lead our youth towards drugs at an early age. Our young generation is losing health and wealth in a cheap and dangerous way.
Major Health Hazards of Smoking
Heart disease: Smoking damages the heart, blood vessels, and blood cells. It increases the risk of atherosclerosis and peripheral artery disease (PAD). Even former smokers face higher risks than those who never smoked.
Damaged lungs: Smoking greatly increases the risk of lung cancer and causes COPD, emphysema, chronic bronchitis, and worsens asthma.
Fertility problems: Smoking reduces fertility in both men and women and increases the risk of erectile dysfunction in men.
Weakened immune system: Smoking makes the body more vulnerable to infections.
Vision problems: Smoking increases the risk of cataracts and macular degeneration.
Poor oral hygiene: Smokers face a higher risk of gum disease, tooth staining, and loss of taste and smell.
Unhealthy skin and hair: Smoking causes premature ageing, wrinkles, hair loss, and skin cancer.
Risk of other cancers: Smoking also causes cancers of the mouth, throat, pancreas, bladder, stomach, kidney, liver, cervix, and colon, among others.
