The smoke from a cigarette is as harmful as that expelled by a car’s exhaust. While the exhaust releases between 30 to 80 thousand ppm (parts per million) of carbon monoxide, the cigarette emits between 20 to 60 thousand ppm.
In January 2006, the California Air Resources Board, a U.S. state considered a benchmark in health and environmental regulation, approved the definition of cigarette smoke as “toxic air contamination.” The initiative gained momentum after a survey revealed that among those surveyed, 16% were smokers, but 56% of adults and 64% of teenagers were exposed to secondhand smoke. The survey also indicated that around 6,600 Californians die annually from diseases associated with tobacco exposure. Among countries fighting against smoking, Canada took the lead by banning smoking in enclosed spaces and encouraging cigarette sales outlets to offer alternatives for addiction control, such as nicotine patches and gums. In Brazil, the pioneering move was the ban on smoking in enclosed spaces, although there is still a lack of strict punishment for offenders.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), smoking is the third leading cause of preventable death worldwide. It kills more than AIDS, alcoholism, cocaine, heroin, and traffic accidents combined. Of the more than 4,800 chemical substances released during tobacco combustion, about 60 are carcinogenic. And nicotine, which does not cause cancer, leads to addiction.
Smoking can cause lung cancer, pulmonary emphysema, chronic bronchitis, cardiovascular diseases, arterial aneurysms, digestive system ulcers, respiratory infections, vascular thrombosis, yellowing of teeth, skin aging, bad breath, shortness of breath, and decreased physical endurance and sports performance. Additionally, there is the risk of sexual impotence, infertility, cervical cancer, early menopause, and dysmenorrhea. A study from the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Michigan also revealed that continuous tobacco consumption slows down thinking and reduces IQ (Intelligence Quotient).
Smoking is responsible for 4.9 million annual deaths worldwide, and the incidence of smokers among the deceased from the most well-known causes is alarming. Here is the percentage of smokers detected in the leading causes of death:
• Lung cancer: 90%
• Bronchitis and emphysema: 85%
• Chronic bronchitis: 40%
• Other types of cancer, such as mouth, larynx, pharynx, esophagus, pancreas, kidney, bladder, and cervical cancer: 30%
• Coronary diseases: 25%
• Vascular diseases: 25%
A woman who smokes during pregnancy may experience anything from premature placental detachment and bleeding, leading to a possible miscarriage, to premature birth of the child, with low weight. The child may maintain low weight and present motor and intellectual development disorders. If the mother quits smoking during breastfeeding, the baby may show symptoms of withdrawal syndrome, such as irritability, easy crying, and trembling of arms and legs. Attention: babies whose parents are smokers have five times the risk of sudden infant death without apparent cause.
Before lighting a cigarette, look around you, think about the future, and abandon the idea. Remember that by smoking a pack of cigarettes a day for more than ten years, you are throwing away, on average, five years of life.
DR. LAIR RIBEIRO
Cardiologist, speaker
www.lairribeiro.com.br
lrsintonia@terra.com.br