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THE REAL QUESTION
Young smokers almost always delude themselves on the reason they maintain the habit, even though they know full well the right answer and the consequences… Diana (name changed) is 23 and a smoker. EarthSmiles.net finds the answer to The Real Question on smoking.
ES: Why do you smoke?
Diana: Because I like smoking
ES: Why do you like smoking?
Diana: Gives me energy…
ES: Nicotine heightens momentarily heightens blood pressure, giving a false sense of energy, but that effect is heightened because the cigarettes have sapped your energy levels - clogging your lungs, and otherwise poisoning you. Don't you usually see smokers standing or sitting still not running or jumping with a cigarette in their mouths?
Diana: Yeah, I know that.
ES: So why would you like something that you KNOW is bad for you?
Diana: Because I know I don’t have the will power to quit.
Question answered.
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| | | "Bhai jara cigarette niba do, problem ho raha hai.." (Brother, can you please put off you cigarette... I’m having a problem)
"Haan..haan..agla aap bolenge aapko mujse problem hai..toh main kya utar jao?!" (yeah,yeah... next you’d say you have a problem with me... so shall I get off??) Silence. Smoker continues with his smoke. This is not a scene for a play… It’s a situation I’m sure most of us have been a witness to or victim of. Its been nearly three years now that a cigarette ban in India was 'enforced,' (October 2, 2008) however every year smoking kills more people than AIDS, traffic accidents, suicide, murder, fires and accidental poisoning - combined! ‘Cigarette’ is derived from the Spanish word “sigaritto’. Here's how world of smoke began… Pictorial records of smoking date back to the 11th century. In 1518, Juan De Grijalva lands in Yucatan and observes American natives smoking Tobacco. Around 1556-65 tobacco got introduced into France, Spain and Portugal, and later to England. In 1614 the first sale of native Virginia tobacco took place in England. Thus the entry of Virginia colony in the world tobacco market, under English protection. Finally in the 1860’s ‘manufactured cigarettes’ first appear in the United States and then globally. Considering all the harmful health effects of smoking, it’s hard to believe more people don’t try to stop it, or greater campaigns conducted against it. Indeed, most of the reactions to smoking's dangers have been extremely soft - telling people to quit, putting text (and now, pictorical) warnings on packs, and finally bans in "public places". A survey conducted said 80% of all smokers started when they were teenagers. While many times this is due to psychological issues such as peer pressure and self esteem, often times they develop the habit from mom and dad. Some even are lured into smoking, pressured by peers, as a “cool” thing to do.
Lets just have a brief overview of the ‘benefits’ of smoking….  © 2011 EarthSmiles.net . All rights reserved. Made from 100% recycled pixels. The Short Term Effects
Most people know the long term effects of smoking include lung cancer, emphysema, cardiovascular diseases and premature ageing. While these can be devastating many people don’t worry about them because they don’t seem like an immediate threat. It’s important to understand in the short term smoking cigarettes can be every bit as dangerous. The following are 6 of the most dangerous short term side effects of smoking:
• Increased blood pressure
• Increased heart rate
• Narrowing of the arteries
• Reduced amount of oxygen the blood can carry
• Carbon monoxide levels in the blood rise
• Creates an imbalance in the demand for oxygen by the cells. The Long Term Effects
Here is a list of harmful health effects smoking can have throughout one’s life:
• Cancers • Lung diseases • Heart disease
• Cardiovascular diseases • Stroke
• Osteoporosis and weakened bones
• Circulatory problems • Ulcers
• Premature aging • Damage to the fetus
• Low sperm count and impotence
• Spontaneous abortion (miscarriage)
• Decreased lung function • Bronchitis
• Infections
• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Apart from this there are other harmful effects of smoking as well.
• Skin: Due to poor blood circulation and a loss of oxygen, the skin loses its luster and plumpness.
• Mouth: Bad breath, mouth cancer, sore throat, reduced sense of taste, as well as stained teeth and plaque are the common effects of smoking.
• Hands: Poor blood circulation leaves your hands cold.
• Respiratory System: Lung cancer as well as bronchitis, constant shortness of breath and persistent cough with sputum are the common respiratory conditions you can get.
• Heart: Many heart attacks can be traced to smoking, which blocks and weakens the arteries and constricts blood vessels.
• Bones: Osteoporosis, spine and hip fractures, and degenerative disc disease can all be traced back to smoking.
• Reproductive System: Many couples have trouble conceiving a child. Infertility is often an issue with heavy and chronic smokers, both male and female. While smoking lowers the sperm counts and decreases sperm motility in men, women face difficulty ovulating.
• Other body organs: There are many harmful effects of smoking on the human body which include cancers of the esophagus, abdomen, pancreas, kidneys, bladder and colon, in addition to blood diseases, decreased circulation to the feet and toes and difficulty recovering from wounds. Smoking does not just harm the active smoker but also the people around them (passive smokers). Infact, a study showed that passive smokers (also known as second hand smokers) are more at risk than the active ones. Dr. Judith Langfield a member of the British Medical Association from Bristol says 'As an asthmatic myself, I am only too well aware of the poor effect of cigarette smoke on my lungs. After only a minute or two of exposure to someone else's cigarette smoke, I start coughing and wheezing, and this continues for several hours, even after I have left the smoky area. The harmful effects of cigarettes is so major that it is even mentioned on the packs, however, people seem to be least bothered… neither about their health nor about the health of their fellow beings.
The measures taken by the government do not help much either. While there are a couple laws and bans on smoking in public, to which people seem to pay no heed. As Mark Twain said “To cease smoking is the easiest thing I ever did. I ought to know because I've done it a thousand times” Indeed to quit smoking is not so easy but what’s in this small roll of finely cut tobacco leaves wrapped in a cylinder of thin paper that makes people go crazy? There are a dozen methods to quit smoking. Electric cigarettes, chewing gums, specialized treatments, medicines, meditation, abstinence… the most important of them being “will power”.
Believe and you will be able to quit. Cigarettes. Anything. The Law on Smoking....
Prohibition of smoking in places of public work or use:
No person shall smoke in any place of public work or use.
Prohibition of smoking in public service vehicles:
Without prejudice to the provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 (59 of 1988) no person shall smoke in a public service vehicle.
Prohibition of sale of cigarettes, etc, to minors:
No person shall sell cigarettes, beedis or any other such smoking substance to any who is below the age of eighteen years.
Prohibition of storages, sale and distribution of cigarettes, etc. in the vicinity of educational institutions:
No person shall himself or by any person on this behalf, store, sell or distribute cigarettes or beedies or any other such smoking substance within an area of one hundred metre around by college, school or educational institution. Do you think the law is being followed? Email jofin@earthsmiles.net | There can be no clean environment where there's dirty smoke.
Smoke in their eyes
By Jofin Jose
|  | | Sign of the times: With smoking bans at youth hangouts, pavements are the lounge | |
