Smoking – A menace to society

Contents

• Smoking : The classy way to commit suicide

• Smoking facts..did you know??

• Chemical components of cigarette

• Uses of tobacco

• Reasons for smoking

• Smoking- The Ultimate Killer

• Time is ticking...STOP!! You still can....

Smoking : The classy way to commit suicide

• One of the greatest health hazards in today’s life is smoking. It brings in tons of health risks, affecting nearly every organ of the body besides claiming hundreds of lives every year. Not only it affects the smoker’s life and cognitive functions but also the community at large

• The smoke eluded from burning tobacco negatively affects both smokers as well as passive smokers (non-smokers who inhales the smoke) causing ailments including sore eyes, wheezing and headaches. It’s one of the leading causes for increased cases of lung cancer, bronchitis, respiratory problems, heart ailments, strokes, high blood pressure, weaker immunity etc

• The huge amount of money spent for this, which if invested otherwise, would do a lot of good for the society as a whole.

Smoking facts...did you know??

• Every cigarette you smoke reduces your life span by 11 minutes

• A single cigarette contains around 4800 chemicals, 69 of which are carcinogenic

• Smoking is addictive – more than heroine and cocaine

• More than 15 billion cigarettes are smoked worldwide everyday

• More than 69% smokers have the will to quit smoking

• Smoking enhances risk of development of diabetes, heart attacks and strokes

• It turns your teeth & fingers yellow

• It negatively affects the fertility of women

Chemical components of cigarette • The main ingredient of cigarettes is

tobacco, which is a green leafy plant, whose leaves are picked , dried and mechanically cut to put into cigarettes.

• Later, thousands of chemicals (> 4000) & artificial flavours are added to them to keep them burning.

• Among these, around 59 chemicals are known to be carcinogenic

• To name a few chemicals that are found in cigarettes are Carbon monoxide, nicotine, tar, Sulphur dioxide, Cyanide (deadly poison), urethane, acetone, butane, formaldehyde, ammonia, DDT, arsenic etc.

Familiar Chemicals in Cigarettes

Chemical Found in:

Carbon monoxide Car exhaust

Nicotine Bug sprays

Tar Material to make roads

Arsenic Rat poison

Ammonia Cleaning products

Hydrogen cyanide Gas chamber poison

Cyanide Deadly poison

Acetone Nail polish remover

Butane Cigarette lighter fluid

DDT Insecticides

Formaldehyde To preserve dead bodies

Sulphuric acid Car batteries

Cadmium Used to recharge batteries

Freon Damages earth's ozone layer

Geranic acid A fragrance

Methoprene A pesticide

Uses of Tobacco

• Tobacco is a plant within the genus Nicotiana of the

Solanaceae (nightshade) family. It contains the alkaloid

‘nicotine’, a stimulant

• Tobacco is consumed in many forms and through a number

of different methods:

– Chewing tobacco

– Beedi

– Cigars

– Cigarettes

– Gutka

– Hookah

– Pipe smoking

– Snuffs

http://www.google.co.in/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=tobacco+plant&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CAcQjRw&url=http://becuo.com/easy-tobacco-plant-drawing&ei=GwFvVJSKEc-puwSJr4D4AQ&bvm=bv.80185997,d.c2E&psig=AFQjCNEscuz8MDp1p6V_w-29poiIBt5DYA&ust=1416647032445756

Reasons of Smoking

• Peer pressure

• To fit to the group

• Psychological satisfaction

• Mind relaxation, pleasure

• Physical & mental stress related to either personal or professional issues

• Addiction to nicotine

• To look mature

• To reduce weight. It has been observed that smokers weigh around 7 pounds lesser than non – smokers

• Smoking damages the blood vessels & blood circulation and causes the following diseases: – Coronary heart disease.

– Heart attack.

– Stroke.

– Peripheral vascular disease (damaged blood vessels)

– Cerebrovascular disease (damaged arteries that supply blood to your brain)

• Smoking damages the respiratory airways and harms

the tiny air sacs in lungs called ‘alveoli’. 90 percent of

lung cancer in men is directly related to smoking and 80

percent of lung cancer in women is caused by cigarettes

• Smoking has a direct negative effect on fertility of both men &

women. It reduces the sperm count in men and increases the

risk of miscarriage, stillborn babies, SIDS (sudden infant death

syndrome) besides delaying the process of conceiving women.

Smoking- The Ultimate Killer

Smoking- The Ultimate Killer

• The most alarming effect of cancer is that it can cause ‘Cancer’

in almost any organ of the human body like lungs, kidney,

breast, uterus, colon , rectum, larynx, blood cervix, liver,

stomach, pancreas, trachea, mouth etc

• Smoking adversely affects the health of teeth and gums &

is one of the major reasons for tooth loss & blackening

• Smoking can increase risk for cataracts, impaired vision

• Smoking is a cause of type 2 diabetes mellitus and can make

it harder to control

• It also serves as one of the causes for rheumatoid arthritis

• It has negative effects on the body’s immune system

Time is ticking...STOP!! You still can....

Reduce smoking gradually, since it’s hard to give up the habit all of a sudden

Exercise: A bit of physical workout or brisk walk two times daily can help you a lot

Seek doctor’s help: Visit doctor and be on NRT (Nicotine Replacement Therapy) to avoid the cravings

Throw away things that reminds you of smoking like ashtrays, pipes etc

Avoid triggers: It refers to the situations, places, surroundings etc that drives you crazy for want of a puff. Try to avoid those for the time being when you are on smoke – quit regime

Chew on it: To avoid the habit, try to give your mouth to chew on something like a sugarless chewing gum/hard candy etc

Delay: If you feel like you're going to give in to your tobacco craving, tell yourself that you must first wait 10 more minutes and then do something to distract yourself for that period of time. This will help you to derail your craving.

It is always advisable for all to give up the habit of smoking, which will prove beneficial not only for the smoker, but also for the persons around him and the society at large. Here are a few smart ways to bid goodbye to this harmful companion of yours:

Live Healthy…!!!