Hyderabad: According to the Global Adult Tobacco Survey, tobacco use is responsible for one in every ten adult deaths. Smoking has been found to be more common in men, particularly in India where about 20 of the males above 15 years of age happen to be smokers. Doctors explained that nicotine stimulates the brain, thereby causing dependency. Besides nicotine, however, tobacco smoke contains around 5,000 other toxic chemicals which cause various harmful effects to the body like cancers of the lungs, mouth, tongue, throat, stomach, pancreas, bladder, etc.
Despite awareness of the health risks associated with smoking, thousands of youngsters between 12 and 17 years of age smoke their first cigarette every day. The initial effects of smoking present themselves in the form of coughing and throat irritation, accompanied by bad breath.
Dr T.L.N. Swamy, senior consultant pulmonologist, CARE Hospitals, said, “Of the various forms of tobacco use, like chewing, sniffing, etc., smoking happens to be the most common and the most dangerous form, contributing globally to the development of serious health issues, and stands as the leading cause of preventable death. Tobacco can be smoked in the form of cigarettes, beedis, cigars, pipe, hookah — all of which are almost equally detrimental to our general health, particularly to the lungs.”
Speaking of the adverse effects of passive smoking, Dr Swamy added, “Passive smokers, too, are at risk of developing the harmful effects of smoking. Studies have shown that women married to smokers are at 25 per cent increased risk of developing smoking-related diseases. Similarly, parental exposure has been found to put children to the risk of developing respiratory infections, pneumonia, asthma, and lung cancer in the long term. Further, pregnant women exposed to secondhand smoke carry a high risk of miscarriage and delivering babies with low birthweights and congenital anomalies.”
