Quit Cigarette Immediately: Learn the Way to Stop Smoking Naturally!

Tobacco Awareness: Say No to Smoking, Say Yes to Life

Every single one of us has seen smoking tobacco as an everyday activity. Be it the sexy smoking scenes in movies or the standard distressing smoking minutes during lunch breaks. But to quit cigarette immediately is the requirement of the day. It is very important to learn the way to stop smoking essentially when it can be done naturally because, as we all know, using tobacco in any form, either smoking or chewing, is harmful to health. Do you know there are nearly 100 million tobacco smokers and almost 200 million tobacco consumers in India, according to the Global Adult Tobacco Survey? 

More than a million people die each year due to diseases from tobacco use, as per the International Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation. And the health hazards of tobacco smoking include terminal diseases like cancer, which are pretty well known by each of us. Even then, awareness about tobacco consumption and cancer of different types of tobacco is vital to encourage a tobacco-free world. 

Let’s Look at the History of No Smoking Campaigns

You will be surprised that although smoking as an activity has been around since ancient times, it has never been more prevalent. The last century of our parents and grandparents saw a tremendous increase in the production of cigarettes and other tobacco products on account of the age of industrialization. With increasing tobacco production and consumption, smoking hazards have also exponentially increased. With each cigarette lighting, we get close to breathing difficulties, lung disease, thyroid diseases, and life-threatening diseases like cancer. 

Member countries of the World Health Organisation came together and created World No Tobacco Day on 31st May 1987. We hear about it now and then, but seldom do we know why. To draw global attention to the tobacco epidemic, World No Tobacco Day was observed internationally on 31st May 1987. In many countries, No Tobacco Day is celebrated as No Smoking Day. We, too, can celebrate this day by spreading awareness about how the different tobacco and smoking intake methods damage your health. 

The Famously Infamous Health Hazards of Tobacco

Do we ever inquire about what is present in tobacco that makes it a slow poison? Tobacco is known to contain at least 70 chemicals that are direct causes of cancer. Not only cancer but tobacco consumption can also cause breathing problems, distortion of physical features, thyroid diseases, and heart diseases. As per WHO, 12% of the world’s smoking population lives in India. As per the very statistics, 13.5% of Indian smoking persons are below the age of 16 years. After knowing these statistics, any of us is bound to be horrified. 

Cancer and thyroid disease are the ultimate results of long-term consumption of tobacco. And to be honest, we know that with our current sitting lifestyle, the chances of getting cancer or any life-threatening disease shoot higher and higher. 

Did You Know About the Other Evil Side Effects?

We all know that tobacco is addictive. Simple logic tells us that paying high-cost prices for each tobacco product can ruin us economically as these products are taxed highly. And in the long run, our unhealthy enjoyment becomes a financial burden. It is compounded like our mutual fund interests but only in the negative, with lakhs and lakhs of rupees spent on the medical treatment of patients suffering from tobacco use. It disrupts not only the everyday life of a person but also the entire family that is put through an existential crisis. Additionally, passive smoking increases the same health risks as that of the smoker. So, if one billion people are involved in smoking, then the smoking effect on the lungs is two billion people, including you and us. 

Hence, the risk to a smoking and a non-smoking person is the same – catastrophic. 

Understanding the Significance of No Tobacco

One of the common queries we receive on no smoking is how smoking damages the lungs. Let’s understand it. Smoking tobacco can damage the tissues that make up our lungs. As a result, the air sacs inside the lungs lose their ability to function correctly, thus exposing us to lung cancer, emphysema, and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases. In addition, consuming tobacco releases harmful chemicals in the blood leading to the increased risk of blood cancer and stroke in our fragile human body. Simply stating, if we pledge to do no more smoking, it will save us from any of the detrimental effects of tobacco.  

Let us see the impacts of quitting tobacco on our lives. It will blow your mind. Given below is the improvement in the health of people who quit smoking and said no to tobacco:

• 20 minutes after quitting: Your heart rate and blood pressure drop to normal. A relaxed and happy heart can only lead to a relaxed and happy life. 
• 12 hours after quitting: The carbon monoxide level in the blood drops to a normal level. The lungs thank us for allowing them to take in oxygen, the elixir of the lungs. 
• 2 weeks after quitting: Blood circulation and lung function increase. The lungs can now jog not under stress but with happiness. 
• 9 months after quitting: Coughing and shortness of breath decrease. Improved lung function. You can also run and perform tasks with ease along with your lungs. 
• 1 year after quitting: Heart disease risk is half that of a smoker. They say that a healthy heart is critical to a long life. 
• 5 years after quitting: Stroke risk is the same as a non-smoking person’s. Who wants a sudden and split-second death in the prime of their life anyways? 

The above points elaborate on the effects of saying No Tobacco.

Anti-Tobacco Awareness Programs Across the World

The World Health Organisation celebrates World No Tobacco Day on 31st May every year. This day is celebrated across the world as No Tobacco Day. Along the same lines, our Indian Government has launched the National Tobacco Control Program to reduce tobacco consumption and the resulting cost that we pay with our lives and our money. 

One of the foremost steps taken by our Government is banning smoking tobacco or any type of smoking in public places. We all know we can’t smoke freely now in public places and enclosed spaces like offices and classrooms. Also, no single tobacco cigarette is allowed to be sold in certain states. It makes it harder for the common public like us to buy it, as the entire pack costs significantly more than the single. 

All of these steps have improved the general health of the public. 

Want to Quit Smoking? A Few Tips For You!

These are the steps that one can follow in quitting smoking.

• First, Say No Tobacco and No Smoking.
• Develop an automatic response to say no when someone offers tobacco or cigarettes.
• Avoid any possibility of passive smoking as well. 
• Avoid smokers and smoking areas rigidly for the first few weeks. 
• If you accidentally take one, be easy on yourself. Recall and remember that it is a long road.
• If necessary, do take external help from family or professionals.

While following all of these steps, remember the ‘why’ you have put for no tobacco and smoking.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Why is tobacco called the silent killer?

Ans: Smoking cigarettes exposes the body to more than 70 substances, which are harmful and carcinogenic. A cigarette contains toxic compounds as well as carcinogens, which are substances that encourage the development of cancer. These include acetaldehyde, aromatic amines, arsenic, benzene, and formaldehyde. Due to this reason, tobacco is known as the Silent Killer. 

2. Why do we say no tobacco?

Ans: No Tobacco is a slogan celebrated worldwide to create awareness about avoiding and using tobacco and tobacco products. We say No tobacco so that those closest to you experience tension and anxiety; as a result, worrying about your well-being and survival. In addition, cancer, heart disease, and other ailments are more likely to strike you down the longer you smoke. So stop before it’s too late.

3. How can you put an end to smoking?

Ans: It’s advisable to try to replace smoking with different behavior, as many triggers are daily routines. Simple alternatives include chewing gum or mints after meals, doodling while on the phone, or having coffee with a coworker at the workplace rather than at home.

Disclaimer: More than a million people die each year due to diseases from tobacco use, as per the International Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation. And the health hazards of tobacco smoking include terminal diseases like cancer, which are pretty well known by each of us.