Every year, on 31st May, World Health Organizations (WHO) and partners mark "World No Tobacco Day". The purpose of the day is to highlight the health risks associated with tobacco use and support for helpful policies to reduce tobacco consumption globally. Each year, global tobacco epidemic kills nearly 6 million people of which more than 600 000 are non-smokers dying from breathing second-hand smoke. The epidemic will kill more than 8 million people every year by 2030. More than 80% of these preventable deaths will be among people living in low and middle-income countries.
The theme for World No Tobacco Day 2013 is "Ban Tobacco Advertising, Promotion and Sponsorship". Statistics show that banning tobacco advertising and sponsorship is one of the most cost-effective ways to reduce tobacco demand around the world.
History and myths of Tobacco:
The history of smoking dates back to as early as 5000 BC. Tobacco chewing was perhaps the first way that tobacco consumed. Snuffing tubes are among the earliest tobacco use. Native Americans cultivated the tobacco plant and smoked it in pipes for medicinal and ceremonial purposes. With the arrivals of the Europeans in the 16th century, the consumption, cultivation, and trading of tobacco quickly spread.
The early Spanish explorers were probably the first Europeans to try smoking tobacco leaf. They wrapped leaf in cornhusk. Christopher Columbus brought a few tobacco leaves and seeds with him back to Europe. Spanish explorers also planted tobacco in botanical gardens for medicinal purposes.
Tobacco introduced to Europeans during the mid-16th century, when adventurers and diplomats like France's Jean Nicot (for whom nicotine named) took their parts to popularize its consumption.
Portuguese traders introduced tobacco in India during 1600. Tobacco became a valuable commodity in barter trade and its use spread rapidly.
Some mythological tradition also associated with tobacco plant. According to a Huron Indian myth, in ancient times, when the land was barren and the people were starving, the Great Spirit sent forth a woman to save humanity. As she travelled over the world everywhere her right hand touched the soil, there grew potatoes. In addition, everywhere her left hand touched the soil, there grew corn. And in the place where she had sat, here grew tobacco."
In the Southwest and Central America, tobacco is associated with rainfall because tobacco smoke resembles clouds that bring rain.
All types of Tobacco are injurious for health
There are many types of tobacco consumption such as traditional cigarettes, cigar, pipes, Hookah and Bidis. All forms of tobacco consumption are injurious for health and can cause deadly diseases. Cigars contain higher level of nicotine than cigarettes. A single large cigar can contain more than a 1/2 ounce of tobacco, as much tobacco as an entire pack of cigarettes. One cigar also contains 100 to 200 milligrams of nicotine. Studies have shown that cigar smoking links to cancers of the mouth, lips, tongue, throat, larynx, lung, pancreas and bladder cancer. Cigar smoking, like cigarette smoking, also linked to gum disease, where the gums shrink away from the teeth.
Hookah or water pipe is a pipe used to smoke Shisha, a mixture of tobacco and fruit or vegetable that is heated and the smoke is filtrated through water. The Hookah consists of a head, body water bowl and hose. The tobacco or Shisha is heated in the hookah usually using charcoal. According to a World Health Organization advisory, a typical one-hour session of hookah smoking exposes the user to 100 to 200 times the volume of smoke inhaled from a single cigarette.
Even after passing through water, tobacco smoke still contains high levels of toxic compounds, including carbon monoxide, heavy metals and cancer-causing chemicals. The Cigarette smokers typically take eight to 12 puffs over five to seven minutes, inhaling 0.5 to 0.6 of a liter of smoke. In contrast, sheesha sessions typically last 20-80 minutes, during which the smoker may take 50-20 puffs, which each range from 0.15 to one liter smoke each. Use of drugs has also become usual in sheesha. Besides, people also mix wine with water in sheesha to fulfill their appetite.
Research has also shown that after 45 minutes of sheesha use, levels of expired air, carbon monoxide, plasma nicotine and the heart rate become significantly elevated. Another study has shown that sheesha use increases the risk of pulmonary tuberculosis.
Pipes are reusable and made of a bowl, stem and mouthpiece. Tobacco placed into the bowl. The smoke is than strained through the stem and mouthpiece and inhaled. Pipe smoking can cause cancer of the mouth, lip, tongue, throat, larynx, lung, pancreas, and colon. Pipe smoking can also cause "hairy tongue," furry-looking bumps on the tongue that can become discolored by tobacco.
Bidis are small and thin hand-rolled cigarettes. They have higher concentrations of nicotine, tar, and carbon monoxide than conventional cigarettes. Smokeless tobacco in the form of paan, gutka, naswar etc is rapidly causing mouth cancer.
Tobacco and tobacco smokes consist of more than 4,000 different types of chemicals of which about 60 chemicals can cause cancer of different types. In 20th century, tobacco epidemic killed 100 million people worldwide. In 2007, five million people died in the world as a direct result of tobacco. In 2025, ten million people expected to die from this addiction.
Tobacco use among youth:
Use of Shisha amongst the youth is an emerging health risk. Every day, some 80,000-100,000 young people around the world become addicted to tobacco. Rapid increase of tobacco use among youth is a matter of concern for health organizations. Factors, which incline youngsters towards tobacco use, are smoking by parents or guardians, easy availability of tobacco products, exposure to tobacco advertising and smoking in movies, desire for flavor, to get rid of stress, to get pleasure, to beat boredom and emphasis from friends.
College students who smoke have higher rates of respiratory infections and asthma as well as a higher incidence of bacterial meningitis. Tobacco consumption induces the suicidal tendencies among young smokers. They are more than five times likely to attempted suicide than non-smokers. Depressed teens are more likely to smoke, and those who smoke are more likely to become depressed.
Youngsters, with smoking habits have fair chances of developing mental disorders. Heavy smokers (>20 cigarettes/day) were 6.8 times more likely to develop agoraphobia, had 5.5 times the risk of generalized anxiety disorder, and had 15.6 times the risk of developing panic disorder than non-smokers. Adolescents who smoke were seven times more likely to abuse or become addicted to illicit drugs than are nonsmoking teens (Brown, 1996).
Facts about Tobacco consumption in Pakistan:
According to statistics, there are about 22-25 million smokers in Pakistan. About 55% of households contain at least one smoker. Around 36% of adult males and 9% of adult females are tobacco users. About 100,000 people die annually due to tobacco use. Smokeless tobacco, extensively used in Pakistan, carries high risk for oral cancer.
Oropharyngeal cancer, among smokeless tobacco users in Pakistan is the second leading disease after breast cancer, and is significantly higher than in other member states of the WHO Eastern Mediterranean region. About 21 per cent of men and 12 percent of women use betel, for both men and women 7.3 percent use pan, 6.7 percent chalia, 7.5 percent gutka, 14.6 percent naswar and use of chewed tobacco is 20 percent and 17 percent respectively.
To stay healthy it is important to adopt healthy lifestyle. For healthy lifestyle, commemorate everyday as a no tobacco day.