Quit smoking for a healthier you

World No Tobacco Day on 31 May this year turns its focus to governments for higher tobacco taxes, placing the spotlight on the health risks associated with unchecked tobacco use.

Tobacco is the single most preventable cause of death globally and according to a study it is responsible for an estimated 10 per cent of adult deaths worldwide, making World No Tobacco Day a very important date on the world health calendar.

Allison Vienings, Executive Director of the Self-Medication Manufacturers Association of South Africa (Smasa), says the danger of tobacco is in the way it works.

“Because there is a gradual decline in health over several years since the start of tobacco use and the physical sign of disease and illness, tobacco becomes an inconspicuous killer.”

Tobacco caused 100 million deaths in the 20th century and if current trends continue, it may cause one billion deaths in the 21st century. Every year approximately six million people die due to tobacco use, of which 600 000 are non-smokers who die from second hand-smoke.

In South Africa alone, an estimated 7,7 million adults use tobacco, with a staggering 29,5 billion cigarettes being consumed annually.

Tobacco-related diseases kill over 44 000 South Africans annually, according to the World Health Organisation.

“Following a healthy diet and exercising regularly become a wasted effort if you continue to smoke. Cigarettes contain more than 4 000 chemical compounds and at least 400 toxic substances, and include products such as tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide,” explains Vienings.

If the ingredients contained in cigarettes do not leave a bad taste in your mouth, spare a thought for those around you. The health of non-smokers is compromised through exposure to second-hand smoke because it increases a non-smoker’s risk of developing lung cancer or heart disease by about 25 per cent.

Some of the diseases associated with second-hand smoke include heart disease, lung cancer and irritation of the eyes and nose in adults, and increased occurrences and worsening of asthma, coughing, wheezing, breathlessness and pneumonia in children and infants.