World No Tobacco Day is the global event celebrated worldwide on 31st
May. The prime objective of this day is to raise awareness among persons about
the undesirable results of tobacco-related products.
Here in this blog, we are going to cover:
→What is the History of World No Tobacco Day?
→What is the Theme of World No Tobacco Day 2020?
→What is 1st hand, 2nd hand & 3rd Hand smoke?
→Why should I quit smoking?
→How the Tobacco industry attract Younger Generations
If you want to know more about World No Tobacco Day and the topics
mentioned above, you can continue, else you can quit.
What is the History of World No Tobacco Day?
World No tobacco day was started in the year 1987 by the WHO members to
spread awareness about the negative effects of the usage of Tobacco. Initially,
they were planning to pass a resolution to create “World No Smoking Day” on 7th
April, but later it was decided to start world no tobacco day on 31st
May by linking the theme of all tobacco products together.
What is the Theme of World No Tobacco Day 2020?
As you are aware of, the celebration of World No Tobacco Day every year
centric around a specific theme and slogan and the theme of 2020 World No
Tobacco Day is “Protecting youth from industry manipulation and preventing
them from tobacco and nicotine use”. The purpose of this year’s theme is to
encourage young people to take part in the fight against big tobacco.
How the Tobacco Industry Attract Younger Generations
➤Flavors appealing to children in smokeless tobacco, shisha, and
e-cigarettes
➤Promotion of tobacco products and the distribution of free samples at
popular events for young people.
➤Advertising and product placement on movies and tv-shows and through
social media platforms with paid influencers.
What is 1st hand, 2nd hand & 3rd
Hand smoke?
When I was researching World No Tobacco Theme 2020, I got to know about
the different hand of smoke i.e. 1st hand, 2nd hand & 3rd
Hand smoke.
1st Hand Smoke: The person who inhaled smoke is
called first-hand smoke.
2nd Hand Smoke: Second-hand smoke is the
combination of smoke that comes from a cigarette and smoke breathed out by a
smoker. When a non-smoker is around someone smoking, they breathe in
second-hand smoke. Generally, it is called passive smoking.
3rd hand Smoke: Thirdhand smoke is residual
nicotine and other chemicals left on indoor surfaces by tobacco smoke. The residue is reacting with common indoor pollutants to create a toxic mix
including cancer-causing compounds, posing a potential health hazard to
non-smokers especially children.
Key facts on tobacco consumption
Here are some important facts & figures related to tobacco consumption.
➤There are 1.3 billion tobacco users worldwide. That number would be
even larger if tobacco didn’t kill half of its users.
➤Tobacco kills more than 8 million people each year.
➤More than 7 million of those deaths are the result of direct tobacco use
while around 1.2 million are the result of non-smokers being exposed to
second-hand smoke.
➤Around 80% of the world's 1.1 billion smokers live in low- and
middle-income countries.
➤Second-hand smoke is also injurious to health and responsible for
serious cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, including coronary heart
disease and lung cancer.
➤In public places, approximately 50% of the children breathe polluted
air caused by tobacco.
➤As per the stats, approximately 60k~70K children die due
to the 2nd hand smoke.
➤Second-hand smoke is responsible for premature deaths of more than 1.2
million every year.
➤Second-hand smoke increases the risk of sudden infant death syndrome.
It is also harmful to pregnant women as it causes pregnancy complications and
low birth weight.
Why should I quit smoking?
There are numerous benefits if you quit smoking. Here we are listing
some of them and these are enough to ensure after reading this blog, think twice
before smoking.
➤It increases your life expectancy and decreases your risk of disease.
➤It improves your personal life, makes your health better, and improves
your sense of taste and smell.
➤Children who stay in non-smoking families are less vulnerable to diseases
in comparison to smoking families.
➤Tobacco smoke contains several types of cancer-causing agents and it is
one of the major causes of lung & throat cancer.
➤The usage of tobacco-related products increases the level of blood
sugar and leads to diabetes.
➤A person who smokes has high levels of carbon monoxide in their blood
and their body always starving for oxygen.
➤Smoking makes your blood thicker and damages your blood vessels and
leads to increase chances of risk of stroke and erectile dysfunction respectively.
Tar from cigarettes coats your lungs, making them work harder.
➤Heart disease is another major cause of death and people who are used
to smoke have greater chances of heart disease. One among five deaths from
heart disease caused by smoking.
➤There is a higher chance of life-threatening ectopic pregnancy in
smoking females and it is approximately 4 times in comparison of those women
who never smoke.
➤After quitting smoking, you can also save money.
What government should do to discourage Tobacco Usage
Here are some initiatives government should take to encourage youths to
avoid the usage of tobacco-related products.
➤Ban the use of flavorings attractive to youth in nicotine and tobacco
products;
➤Enact comprehensive bans on advertising, promotion, and sponsorship of
nicotine and tobacco products, including cross-border advertising;
➤Adopt large, graphic labels that warn about the health risks of
nicotine and tobacco products;
➤Promote nicotine replacement therapies and non-nicotine pharmacotherapies
for termination.
How to Control your Smoking Habits
➤Delay: Delay if you can before giving in to your need.
➤Deep breathing: Take 10 deep breaths to relax.
➤Drink water: Drinking water is a healthy alternative to sticking a
cigarette in your mouth.
➤Do something else to distract yourself: Take a shower, read, go for a
walk, listen to music!
References
