5 reasons you should quit tobacco today

Tobacco related health problems are preventable by saying no to tobacco. The consumption of tobacco causes many types of health issues. Tobacco is one of the top causes of lung cancer. Not only that, tobacco consumption can cause more complex illnesses like Myeloid Leukemia, Ectopic Pregnancy, Coronary Heart Disease, Stroke, and many more on the list.

The tobacco related death toll is increasing day by day. As a result, around 8 million deaths are happening each year. The death count includes millions of non-smokers because they are exposed as passive smokers. Tobacco is very harmful to our ecosystem as well. 

World No Tobacco Day Theme 2023

This day is created to spread awareness of tobacco related health issues. Like every year, this year too WHO has selected a theme to make this day more intended and provide a unified message to our society. The theme of the No Tobacco Day 2023 is “Grow Food, No Tobacco”.

Approximately 3.5 million hectares of land is converted to grow tobacco each year. Tobacco growing also causes deforestation. One more negative impact of tobacco growing is, it depletes soil fertility. Hence, tobacco farming is harmful for agricultural lands and grazing for livestocks. Therefore, tobacco farming is not a good practice in either way. However, it has a destructive impact on the entire ecosystem. 

Importance of World No Tobacco Day

World No Tobacco Day has been observed since 1988 on every 31st May. The day is observed to raise awareness of health risks or issues related to tobacco consumption. It also encourages the government to adopt some remarkable policies that can reduce tobacco farming and use.

5 Reasons You Should Quit Tobacco

There are many ways of tobacco consumption. People smoke, chew, or sniff tobacco. Smoke tobacco has nicotine, carbon monoxide, tar, and toxic chemicals such as benzene, arsenic, etc. Chewing or sniffing tobacco contains nicotine (highly addictive) and 28 carcinogenic chemicals that affect the kidney, liver, and lungs. These chemicals can change genetic materials. Here are major health issues that can arise without knowing if you are still consuming tobacco. 

1. Lung Cancer

Smoking a cigarette releases thousands of chemicals. More than 70 chemicals cause cancer. The human body is capable of detoxifying those chemicals but leftover carcinogens help mutate body cells. Normal cells repair the damage and stop dividing after a repair. However, we all have cancer cells. Smoking or tobacco consumption increases the chances of cell mutations. Hence, there is a greater chance those mutations are cancerous. These cancerous cells cause lung cancer. Also, they enter the bloodstream through the lungs and can affect any part of our body and cause cancer. 

2. Acute Myeloid Leukemia

Most of the cases, leukemia is not preventable. Acute Myeloid Leukemia or AML is a blood cancer which affects white blood cells. Normally bone marrow makes blood stem cells which become mature blood stem cells over time. But in AML, these stem cells become abnormal blood cells which are not healthy. Smoking is amongst the risk factors for the disease. Benzene in cigarettes is considered one of the significant causes of the development of AML. If a person is exposed to high levels of benzene for a long time then he or she has a high chance of suffering this disease. To reduce the chances of suffering, people must quit smoking or stop tobacco intake.

3. Ectopic Pregnancy

Tobacco intake is harmful to men as well as women. Women who smoke have a high chance of facing infertility. They have trouble getting pregnant. They may face Ectopic Pregnancy. Ectopic Pregnancy is a condition in which a fertilized egg cannot survive. It is a serious health risk for a mother. The chemicals in tobacco affect the estrogen and other hormone levels which may cause infertility in women. Men too, who smoke often are at a greater risk of erectile dysfunction. According to research, smoking may damage DNA in men’s sperm. The DNA damage in sperm may cause infertility and miscarriage.

4. Coronary Heart Disease

The use of tobacco is a major risk factor for Coronary Heart Disease. Smoking or inhaling tobacco increases the toxin levels. Also, it increases the formation of plaques in blood vessels. When blood travels through those narrow arteries which carry blood to the heart muscles, Coronary heart disease (CHD) occurs. Important to note that, chemicals present in the cigarette cause blood thickness. The thick blood forms a clot inside the veins and arteries. As a result, the clot becomes a blockage that leads to heart attack and death. Active smokers along with passive smokers are at higher risk of suffering from the disease.

5. Stroke

Tobacco smoking affects arteries and blood flow. This effect triggers brain stroke. The blood supply gets temporarily blocked. And lack of oxygen results in cell damage in the brain. This damage leads to paralysis, slurred speech, altered brain function, and death. A study finds that the risk of stroke increases when someone’s cigarette consumption increases. The risk increases by 12% for every five additional cigarettes per day. The risk of dying due to death is also increased by tobacco intake.

Conclusion

Tobacco uses are not healthy. Moreover, tobacco farming affects the ecosystem. To combat environmental degradation, tobacco farming needs to be stopped. Growing healthy food and healthy living is the need of the moment. On this, No Tobacco Day, we must spread awareness and our unified action can make the world a better place.