The Many Facts & Faces of Tobacco Epidemic:

Central government revised the rule, banning smoking in all public places from October 2, 2008.

Tobacco as a Threat:

• Tobacco is the single most preventable cause of death in the world today.
• This year, tobacco will kill more than five million people- more than Tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS and malaria combined.
• 100 million people were killed by tobacco in the 20th century. Unless we act, tobacco will kill 1 billion people in the 21st century. 

Worldwide:

• Tobacco kills 1 human being every 6 seconds.
• Tobacco kills a third to half of all people who use it, on an average 15 years prematurely.
• Today, tobacco use causes 1 in 10 deaths among adults worldwide- more than five million people a year.
• By 2030, unless urgent action is taken, tobacco’s annual death toll will rise to more than 8million.
• Of the more than 1 billion smokers alive today, around 500 million will be killed by tobacco
• If current trends continue, tobacco will kill 7 million people annually by 2020.

In India:

• India is the world’s second largest consumer and third largest producer of tobacco.
• Nearly 17% of smokers in the world live in India.  
• There are currently about 240 million tobacco users aged 15 years and above (195 million male & 45 million female)
• In all, 57% of men and nearly 11% of women tobacco in some form.
• It is estimated that 65% of all men use some form of tobacco.
• Tobacco consumption patterns show major differences across regions. Smoking rates tend to be higher in rural areas than urban areas. 
• Oral cancer accounts for 1/3 of the total cancer cases, with 90% of the patients being tobacco chewers 
• In 1996, it was estimated that 800 000 people died from tobacco and that 150 000 cases of cancer, 4.2 million cardiovascular cases, and 3.7 million chronic respiratory disease cases were due to tobacco.

Tobacco and children:

• Most people start smoking before the age of 18, and almost a quarter of these individuals begin using tobacco before the age of 10.
• More than 800 million children worldwide are regularly exposed to second-hand smoke
• Almost half of the world’s children (700 million) are forced to passively breathe air polluted by tobacco use.
• Infants of parents who smoke are more likely to be admitted to hospital for bronchitis and pneumonia in the first year of life. More than 17,000 children under the age of five are admitted to hospital every year because of the effects of passive smoking.
• High school students who smoke cigarettes are more likely to take risks such as ignoring seat belts, getting into physical fights, carrying weapons, and having sex at an earlier age.

Second Hand Smoke

• Occupational exposure to SHS at work causes about 14%.of all work related deaths.
• Secondhand smoke, also known as environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) or passive smoking, is a mixture of the smoke given off by the burning end of a cigarette, pipe or cigar and the smoke exhaled from the lungs of smokers. It is involuntarily inhaled by nonsmokers, lingers in the air hours after cigarettes have been extinguished and can cause or exacerbate a wide range of adverse health effects, including cancer, respiratory infections, and asthma.
• SHS cannot be controlled by ventilation, air cleaning or special separation of smokers from non-smokers. It can also cause significant exposure and health harm in unenclosed areas.
• The secondhand smoke that results from burning tobacco is a complex of over 4,000 chemicals, many of which are toxic and carcinogenic. 

Third Hand Smoke:

• Third hand smoke is recently identified health hazard.
• It refers to the invisible yet toxic brew of gases and particles clinging to smoker’s hair and clothing, not to mention cushions and carpeting that lingers long after SHS is cleared from a room.
• It is now identified as a SHS related threat to children’s health that is not as easy to get rid of.
• The residue includes heavy metals, carcinogens and even radioactive materials that young children can get on their hands and ingest, especially if they are crawling or playing on the floor

Other facts:

• Everybody 80,000-100,000 young people around the world become addicted to tobacco
• There are over 4,000 chemicals in cigarette smoke. Over 200 of these chemicals are poisonous, and at least 40 have been found to cause cancer. Some of the ingredients include ammonia (found in toilet bowl cleaner), arsenic (common ingredient in rat poison), polonium 210 (nuclear waste), carbon monoxide (car exhaust), and acetone (used in nail polish remover).
• Nicotine is a deadly poison in high doses. One drop (70 mg) can kill an average adult.
• Apart from nicotine, tobacco contains 230 toxic chemicals that play a role in the onset of cancer
• Cigarettes in the Indian market have higher levels of tar & nicotine content than those found in developed countries.
• Every cigarette takes 7 minutes of your life.
• Smoking between 1 to 5 cigarettes a day increases by 40% the risk of suffering a heart attack.
• Smoking is responsible for 9 out of 10 lung cancers.
• For every eight smokers that die of a tobacco related illness, they take one non-smoker with them
• Tobacco is considered to be a "gateway drug" which may lead to alcohol, marijuana, and other illegal drug use.
• Cigarettes are the most common form of tobacco used, but cigars and smokeless tobacco are every bit as dangerous
• Dip contains 28 cancer causing agents. Dip causes lip, cheeks, tongue and other types of cancer of the mouth.
• It costs an average of Rs 3.5 lakh to treat a cancer patient. In a poor country with no healthcare benefits, tobacco snatches breadwinners from many families. Any economic contribution that tobacco companies claim to be making should be seen in this light.
• Fatal heart attacks are 4 times more common in young men who smoke than in those who don’t.
• 1 out of 3 cancer deaths is related to smoking.
• The tobacco industry itself has referred to cigarettes as “Nicotine delivery device”.

Cessation

An individual is probably already aware that tobacco habits harm your health. But one needs to find his / her own personal reasons for quitting as well. Making your own recipe for will power will motivate you more than just fear of disease consequences.

• The smell of tobacco in your mouth is not pleasant. While you have become used to it, others around you notice.
• The teeth gets stained from tobacco use? And just brushing won’t get rid of it.
• The cigarette and bidi butts that one leaves behind make a mess.
• To avoid health problems
• To save money
• To prove I can do it
• To please someone I care about.
• I have sore or white patches in my mouth
• I have shortness of breath or cough
• To avoid gum or tooth problems
• I do not want it to control me
• My smoke harms others around me, spitting in public place is unhygienic

Quit Tips:

• Nibble on low-calorie items like carrot sticks, celery and apples; suck on cinnamon or chew gum
• Stretch out your meals. Eat slowly and pause between bites.
• After dinner; instead of cigarette, try a mint or a cup of tea with honey.
• Take deep breaths and exhale slowly; remember, the desire to smoke will pass.

The day before quit day:

• Build a  strong team of supporters
• Warn your support team that you may be irritable for a week or two after you quit.
• Ask them to be patient.
• Ask them to stand by and listen to you and encourage you when the going gets rough.
• Suggest ways they can help.

        
Quit day:

• On quitting day .throw out all your tobacco.
• Start this special day with an early morning walk.
• Sit in a different place at breakfast time.
• Keep busy and active.
• When cravings come, use your substitutes.
• Reward yourself for quitting – make it a special day.

Basic Strategies:

• Stay positive: When you wake up, promise yourself that you will not smoke a cigarette that day.
• Picture success: plan ahead and think of how you will deal with stressful situations without lighting up.
• Take a breather: relaxation exercises help relieve urges to smoke. Remember, these urges to smoke are temporary.
• Work out: exercise like swimming, running, and racket sports helps relieve tension and reduces your urge to smoke.

After quitting

• 20 minutes:
• Heart rate begins to normalize.
• Blood pressure drops to a level close to that before the last cigarette.
• Temperature of hands and feet increases to normal
  
  
• 12 hours:
• Carbon monoxide level in blood drops to normal.
  
  
• 2 weeks to 3 months:
• Circulation  improves,
• Lungs function increases up to 30%.
  
  
• 9 months:
• Coughing, sinus congestion, fatigue and shortness of breath decrease.
  
  
• 1 year
• Excess risk of coronary heart disease is half that of a smoker.
  
  
• 5 years:
• Risk of stroke sharply decreased.
  
  
• 10 years:
• Risk of lung cancer falls to half.
• Risk of cancer of the mouth, throat, oesophagus, bladder, kidneys, and pancreas decreases.
  
  
• 15 years:
• Risk of heart disease becomes the same as for someone who has never smoked.

Sources:

WHO Report on the global Tobacco Epidemic, 2008
WHO Global Info-Base
Tobacco control in developing countries- worldbank.org
Mpower
American Cancer Society- US Surgeon General’s Report