Dr Sushil Sharma
Each year, the World Health Organization (WHO) holds World No Tobacco Day on May 31st. The goal is to spread awareness about the risks of tobacco use and how we can make the world tobacco free. There are 1.3 billion tobacco users worldwide. That number would be even larger if tobacco didn’t kill half of its users. Every four seconds, tobacco takes another life. Decades of the tobacco industry’s deception and devious tactics have hooked generations of users to nicotine and tobacco, driving this global epidemic. The multi-billion-dollar industry recruits new tobacco and nicotine users to reward investors with as much profit as possible and keep its business alive. Tobacco and related industries have increasingly preyed on children and adolescents, employing advertising tactics and targeting them directly with a new portfolio of products that threaten their health. These industries are moving at a rapid speed to launch existing and new products and use every means to expand their market share before regulations can catch up with them. Tobacco and related industries continue to oppose evidence-based measures, such as increases in excise taxes and comprehensive bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship, and have threatened legal actions against governments that try to protect the health of their citizens.
Despite significant progress, millions of young people remain vulnerable, with a staggering 37 million aged 13-15 years using some form of tobacco globally. World No Tobacco Day 2024 will give a platform to young people across the world,who are urging governments to shield them from predatory tobacco marketing tactics. The industry targets youth for a lifetime of profits, creating a new wave of addiction. Children are using e-cigarettes at rates higher than adults in all regions.
WNTD on 31 May 2024 will be driven this year by the theme ‘Protecting children from tobacco industry interference’. The focus is on mobilising international efforts to enact stronger regulations that shield youth from harmful tobacco products and deceptive advertising practices.
Beneficial health changes that take place:
* Within 20 minutes, your heart rate and blood pressure drop.
* 12 hours, the carbon monoxide level in your blood drops to normal.
* 2-12 weeks, your circulation improves and your lung function increases.
* 1-9 months, coughing and shortness of breath decrease.
* 1 year, your risk of coronary heart disease is about half that of a smoker’s.
* 5 years, your stroke risk is reduced to that of a non smoker 5 to 15 years after quitting.
* 10 years, your risk of lung cancer falls to about half that of a smoker and your risk of cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus, bladder, cervix, and pancreas decreases.
* 15 years, the risk of coronary heart disease is that of a non smoker’s.
The understandable attention to current pandemic should not overshadow the world’s ongoing fight against smoking and related diseases. In fact, we must attend to the points at which these deadly crises intersect. Surveys of individuals under various conditions of lock-down show that smokers are experiencing high levels of stress, and that tobacco is often their primary coping mechanism for managing this stress. While many of those surveyed reported that they would like to quit, they often lacked access to the information, support, and nicotine alternatives that might enable this transition.
Benefits of Smoking Cessation
The aim of a stop smoking intervention with patients from any group is to encourage and enable the patients to make health enhancing behaviour changes for themselves. This may involve work on motivation , skill building and confidence building it will certainly demand the best of communication skills.
Short-term benefits of quitting smoking
* 20 minutes after quitting, heart rate and blood pressure drop.
* 2 hours after quitting, the amount of nicotine in the bloodstream will drop by half.
* 8 hours after quitting, there will be more oxygen in the blood.
* 12 hours after quitting, the carbon monoxide level in the blood drops to normal.
* 72 hours after quitting, breathing becomes easier and bronchial tubes begin to relax.
* 2 to 12 weeks after quitting, circulation improves and lung function increases.
* 1 to 9 months after quitting, coughing and shortness of breath decrease. Cilia (tiny hair-like structures that move mucus out of the lungs) start to regain normal function in the lungs, increasing the ability to handle mucus, clean the lungs, and reduce the risk of infection.
The long -term benefits of quitting smoking include the following:
At one year, you have halved your risk of coronary heart disease. By two to five years, your risk of stroke is now the same as a non-smoker, and at five years you have halved your risk of mouth, throat, oesophageal and bladder cancer.
By 10 years, your risk of dying from lung cancer is half that of a current smoker, and your risk of developing kidney and pancreatic cancers decreases.
Key Message:
The sophisticated use of digital platforms by tobacco companies to market to young people is also a signficant issue as it complicates enforcement of advertising restrictions. These companies exploit social media’s pervasive reach, engaging influencers who often fail to disclose their associations with tobacco promotions. So we must raise awareness and facilitate discussions among policymakers, healthcare providers, and the general public. Youth groups around the world can urge their governments to implement measures to prevent tobacco use and nicotine addiction. They can call for tobacco corporations to be held accountable and financially liable for past, present, and future harms caused by their activities.
(The author is Head Department of Cardiology GMCH Jammu)
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