Smoking Facts

According to the statistical data, surprisingly, larger number of deaths occurs due to tobacco smoking in comparison to HIV/AIDS, infectious diseases such as T.B and serious illness like malaria collectively. Tobacco kills more than 5 million people every year. The practice of burning tobacco, inhaling and tasting began as early in 5000 B.C. Tobacco encountered frequent aspersion but nevertheless it became really popular. The relation between tobacco and lungs was first acknowledged by German scientists. The first Anti-smoking campaign was started in 1920 but it failed to access huge success. Instead of declining, the graphs of tobacco consumption continue to rise in the developing world.

Tobacco happens to be the most common substance smoked and smoking is most common method of consuming tobacco. The agricultural product i.e. leaf of tobacco plant is mixed with other sedatives and then thermolysed. The vapors are inhaled and the agile substances are then absorbed by the air sacs (alveoli) in lungs. The agile particles consumed stimulate heartbeat, reaction taking place in the body, memory and alertness. The release of Dopamine and Endorphins as the end product kindles the feeling of pleasure. The positive reinforcement caused motivates smoking. Poor people happen to smoke more than the rich and the wealthy class. Men smoke more than women.

Eleven chemical compounds and more than 4,500 cancer causing agents commonly called carcinogenic are found in cigarette and tobacco respectively. In teens generally out of five one is a smoker. Diseases caused by smoking are generally chronic ones of heart, lung, mouth, larynx, oesophagus, bladder, pancreas, cervix and cancer. The mothers-to-be who smoke cause death of babies and those who survive suffer from problems related to smoking. 10% of the world population dies everyday due to passive smoking. United States is the largest manufacturer of cigarette.

Many steps have been taken and are being taken to cease smoking. In 1950 scientific evidences were published for the deaths and diseases caused by smoking. In increasing years several methods have been introduced as a substitute to smoke that cause less harm to the smoker, some of them are Vaporizers, electronic cigarettes, smokeless tobacco and herb substitutions. Hypnosis, acupuncture and laser techniques based on acupuncture are some alternative medical techniques that can be adopted to quit smoking.

Many government forms have started imposing excise tax on the cigarettes to reduce consumption. The programs and movies that discussed smoking are banned. In 1971 an act called Public Health Cigarette Smoking Act was passed by the congress to control the increasing trend of cigarette causing hazardous health problems. Some countries like The Netherlands, France, Finland, Canada, Australia, India, Chile, U.K, etc. have enforced laws against smoking in public places, off times including bar and restaurants. Smoking is supposed to be the only preventive cause of most of the hazardous diseases such as heart strokes and cancers.