Smoking and Tobacco Chewing

Smoking is the use of tobacco in the form of smoke; however, tobacco can be taken by chewing. Tobacco is one of the important causative agents of various diseases. Taking tobacco has no benefits to our health. Nicotine and other carcinogenic chemicals affect various parts of our body. It is the causative factors of high BP, heart disease, strokes, asthma, cough and cancer. The productivity of person is lost as it causes the chronic diseases.

Causes

1. Blindly imitating friends or by their pressure
2. Imitating other members who smoke in own family
3. To reduce mental tension
4. Lack of knowledge on its consequences
5. Uncontrolled production of tobacco products
6. Adopting smoking as a fashion of modernization
7. For pleasure

Effects

Immediate effects

1. Irritation in throat
2. Headache, vomiting, abdominal pain
3. Dizziness and nausea
4. High BP
5. Unpleasant breathing

Long-term effects

1. High BP and heat movement, frequent irritation and temper
2. Possibility of heart attack and lung cancer
3. May cause blindness by damaging optic nerve
4. Pallor in teeth, skin, finger, etc. due to nicotine
5. tuberculosis

Preventive measures of smoking

1. Parents should demonstrate healthy practices by not smoking.
2. Avoid friendship to bad mates who smoke.
3. Smoking should be prohibited in public places.
4. Awareness campaigns emphasising the danger and consequences of smoking
5. Help to declare public places as ‘smoke-free zone’.