The smoking habit

CEBU, Philippines - In the Philippines, even with the raised tax on tobacco products, tobacco is said to continue causing too many premature deaths and diseases among adults and children. Ten people reportedly die every hour due to tobacco-smoking diseases in the country.  The Tobacco Atlas, a leading advocacy against tobacco smoking, notes that 40 percent of men and 8.2 percent of women in the Philippines smoke tobacco.

More than 71,850 Filipinos are killed by tobacco-related diseases every year, according to Tobacco Atlas.

It has also been found, in The Philippines 2011 Global Youth Tobacco Survey, that more than two in five 13-to-15 year olds are exposed to second-hand smoke (SHS) at home and nearly three in five are exposed to SHS outside the home. SHS increases the risks of contracting lung cancer by 30 percent (small cell lung cancer by 300 percent) and coronary heart disease by 25 percent.

The causes of death related to SHS include chemic heart disease, lower respiratory infections, asthma, and lung cancers. The Philippine Cancer Society estimates around 3,000 non-smoking adult Filipinos die every year of lung cancer as a result of inhaling SHS. “With these facts, it is estimated that 10 Filipinos are dying every hour due to diseases from tobacco consumption,” says Department of Heath (DOH) secretary Janette Garin.

The DOH secretary is concerned about young people who are getting into the habit of smoking. “Students should know the harmful effects of smoking and there are no benefits in starting the habit. They should be smart and never start smoking,” she emphasizes.

Among young people, the short-term health consequences of smoking include respiratory and non respiratory effects, addiction to nicotine, and the associated risk of other drug use. Long-term health consequences of youth smoking are reinforced by the fact that most young people who smoke regularly continue to smoke throughout adulthood.

Cigarette smokers have been observed to have a lower level of lung function than those who have never smoked. Among the young, smoking reduces the rate of lung growth and development. Among adults, cigarette smoking causes heart disease and stroke, and early signs of these diseases can already be found in adolescents who smoke.

Among young people trained in competitive running, smoking is found to negatively affect performance and endurance. The same is so with the overall physical fitness of young people in general. Experts estimate that, on average, a person who smokes a pack or more of cigarettes each day lives seven years shorter than someone who doesn’t smoke.

The resting heart rates of young adult smokers are two to three beats faster than nonsmokers’. Teenage smokers also frequently experience shortness of breath. And there is a much worse threat for young smokers. Smoking at an early age increases the risk of lung cancer, and the risk rises further as the individual continues to smoke.

On May 31, the World No Tobacco Day (WNTD) will once again be observed. The observance is aimed at highlighting the health risks associated with tobacco use and advocating for effective policies to reduce tobacco consumption. Policy makers, civil society and the public are enjoined to take action to ensure that governments worldwide actively participate in the campaign against tobacco smoking.

This year’s WNTD observance aims to push for the plain packaging of tobacco products as part of a comprehensive, multi-sectoral approach to tobacco control. Plain packaging is believed to make cigarette and other tobacco products less appealing. Many countries have already enforced plain packaging of tobacco products.

The DOH together with New Vois Association of the Philippines and World Lung Foundation has launched a powerful national anti-tobacco campaign that highlights the dangers of smoking to adults and the health harms caused to children and non-smokers exposed to SHS. The campaign, called “Cigarettes Are Eating You Alive,” which airs on national television, is intended to encourage quitting the smoking habit and support for the country’s smoke-free laws and the implementation of graphic health warnings on tobacco packs.

It boggles the mind to think that a something that started as a mere “trip” would eventually take too much effort and cost to curb. Perhaps this means that the smoking habit is a formidable enemy and should be taken seriously by all, smokers and non-smokers alike. After all, everybody is a potential victim – including an unborn fetus of a mother who smokes or inhales second-hand smoke.  (References: www.who.int, www.worldlungfoundation.org) (FREEMAN)