World No Tobacco Day 2023: Every year 31st May is marked as World No Tobacco Day to raise awareness about tobacco epidemic and preventable deaths and diseases it causes. The day is also observed to raise awareness about the widespread prevalence of tobacco use and to negative health effects.
According to World Health Organization (WHO), the tobacco epidemic is one of the biggest public health threats, and it is killing more than 8 million people a year, including around 1.2 million deaths from exposure to second-hand smoke.
The UN Health agency also warns that all forms of tobacco are harmful, and there is no safe level of exposure to tobacco. Meanwhile, cigarette smoking is the most common form of tobacco use worldwide. Other tobacco products include waterpipe tobacco, various smokeless tobacco products, cigars, cigarillos, roll-your-own tobacco, pipe tobacco, bidis and kreteks.
Harmful Effects of Tobacco Use
Smoking
- According to Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), smoking leads to disease and disability and harms nearly every organ of the body.
- Smoking causes cancer, heart disease, stroke, lung diseases, diabetes, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis. Smoking also increases risk for tuberculosis, certain eye diseases, and problems of the immune system, including rheumatoid arthritis.
- Secondhand smoke causes stroke, lung cancer, and coronary heart disease in adults.
- Children who are exposed to secondhand smoke are at increased risk for sudden infant death syndrome, acute respiratory infections, middle ear disease, more severe asthma, respiratory symptoms, and slowed lung growth.
Smokeless Tobacco
According to CDC, smokeless tobacco is associated with many health problems:
- Can lead to nicotine addiction
- Causes cancer of the mouth, esophagus (the passage that connects the throat to the stomach), and pancreas (a gland that helps with digestion and maintaining proper blood sugar levels)
- Is associated with diseases of the mouth
- Can increase risks for early delivery and stillbirth when used during pregnancy
- Can cause nicotine poisoning in children
- May increase the risk for death from heart disease and stroke
- Using smokeless tobacco during pregnancy can increase the risk for early delivery and stillbirth.
- Nicotine in smokeless tobacco products that are used during pregnancy can affect how a baby’s brain develops before birth.
How to Quit Tobacco?
- Behavioral interventions
- Nicotine replacement therapy
- Medication
