May 26, 2008

31 st MAY - World No Tobacco Day

The aim of the day is to increase awareness globally about the dangers of tobacco use, to encourage governments to strictly regulate tobacco products and to get individuals to quit tobacco use.

According to the World Health Organization , every eight seconds a person dies of a smoking-related disease. Deaths from cancer, heart attacks, lung diseases. and complications of pregnancy caused by tobacco are set to double.

The No Smoking Day has a very clear vision and mission. That is:

Vision: To reduce tobacco related illness and death

Mission: To support smokers who want to stop through providing an opportunity to do so, and highlighting the effective help that is available

What's in a cigarette? Do you know that there are about 4,000 chemicals in tobacco smoke? These poisonous chemicals include: Tar - a mixture of chemicals (formaldehyde, arsenic and cyanide to name a

few). About 70% of the tar is left in smokers' lungs when they inhale cigarette smoke and this causes many serious lung diseases.

Carbon Monoxide (CO) - an odourless, tasteless and poisonous gas. It makes breathing more difficult as it combines with the body's blood which carries oxygen around the body. Oxygen is essential for our bodies to work properly. Up to 15% of a smoker's blood may be carrying CO instead of oxygen, which means the heart has to work harder, which can cause coronary heart disease and circulation problems.

Acetone - widely used as a solvent, for example in nail polish remover. Ammonia - is found in cleaning fluids. Arsenic - a deadly poison, used in insecticides. Formaldehyde - used to preserve dead bodies. Cadmium - a highly poisonous metal used in batteries. Shellac - becomes a wood varnish when mixed with a form of alcohol. Benzene - used as a solvent in fuel and chemical production. Cyanide - a deadly poison.

Many people have successfully quit smoking and the majority says they would like to quit.

And, while the number of cigarette smokers has dropped over recent years, the number of smokeless tobacco users has steadily risen. This trend is likely related to the false belief that smokeless tobacco is safe. It is NOT. Smokeless tobacco carries many of the same health risks as cigarettes. Some people who want to stop smoking, but who still crave the nicotine, turn to smokeless tobacco wrongly thinking that they are doing something good for themselves.

SAFETY TALK 05/08

When smokers inhale a lit cigarette, nicotine within seconds reaches the brain and binds to a nicotinic receptor which activates the reward pathway in the brain's circuitry. This creates a powerful sense of satisfaction. The initial effects recede quickly and a cycle of craving and withdrawal ensues. Applying new understandings about the brain, biology and chemistry to smoking cessation, researchers took a wholly new therapeutic approach to this medical condition.

THE EFFECTS OF NICOTINE

Nicotine acts as both a stimulant and depressant on your body. It increases your bowel activity, saliva, and bronchial secretions. It stimulates the nervous system and may cause tremors in the inexperienced user, or even convulsions with high doses.

After stimulation, there's a phase that depresses the muscles in your airways. As a euphoric agent, nicotine causes relaxation from stressful situations.

On average, tobacco increases your heart rate 10 to 20 beats per minute, and it increases your blood pressure reading by 5 to 10 mmHg (because it constricts the blood vessels).

Nicotine may also cause sweating, nausea, and diarrhea. Nicotine elevates the blood level of glucose (blood sugar) and increases insulin production. Nicotine also tends to enhance platelet aggregation, which may lead to blood clots.

Nicotine temporarily stimulates memory and alertness. People who use tobacco frequently depend on it to help them accomplish certain tasks at specific levels of performance. Nicotine also tends to be an appetite suppressant. (For this reason, fear of weight gain also influences the willingness of some people to stop smoking.)

Finally, tobacco is highly addictive. It is considered mood and behavior altering. Tobacco is believed to have an addictive potential comparable to alcohol, cocaine, and morphine.

HEALTH RISKS

There are many reasons to quit using tobacco. Knowing the serious health risks may help motivate you to quit. When used over a long period, tobacco and related chemicals such as tar and nicotine can increase your risk of:

Blood clots, which may lead to aneurysms and strokes Cancer (especially in the lung, mouth, larynx, esophagus, bladder, kidney, pancreas, and cervix) Coronary artery disease , including angina and heart attacks Decreased ability to taste and smell Delayed wound healing High blood pressure Lung problems such as emphysema and chronic bronchitis Tooth and gum diseases

You have the same risks if you use smokeless tobacco (chewing tobacco, snuff, etc.) for a long time. In addition, smokeless tobacco users have a 50 times greater risk for mouth cancer than those who do not use such products.

Illustrations

Tobacco and Vascular Disease Tobacco and Chemicals

Tobacco and Cancer Secondhand Smoke and Lung Cancer

Respiratory Cilia Tobacco Health Risks

TIME TO QUIT

There are a lot of ways to quit smoking and many resources to help you. Family members, friends, and coworkers may be supportive or encouraging, but the desire and commitment to quit must be your own.

Most people who have been able to successfully quit smoking made at least one unsuccessful attempt in the past. Try not to view past attempts to quit as failures, but rather as learning experiences..

Below, some tips to help you quit smoking are listed. First and foremost, set a quit date and quit COMPLETELY on that day. To prepare for that day:

Identify the times you are most likely to smoke. For example, do you tend to smoke when feeling stressed? When you are out at night with friends? While you are drinking coffee? When you are bored? While you are driving?

Keep a diary to help you determine such risky times. Record each time you have a cigarette, including time of day and what you are doing.

Make a plan about what you will do instead of smoking at those times that you are most likely to smoke. For example, drink tea instead of coffee -- tea may not trigger the desire for a cigarette. Or, take a walk when feeling stressed. Remove ashtrays and cigarettes from the car.

Let all of your friends, family, and co-workers know of your plan to stop smoking and your quit date. Just being aware that they know can be a helpful reminder and motivator.

Prior to your quit date, start reducing your cigarette use, including decreasing the number and strength of the cigarettes. However, DON'T do this simply to make your diary "look good!" Get rid of all of your cigarettes just prior to the quit date and clean out anything that smells like smoke, such as clothes and furniture.

Like any addiction, quitting tobacco is difficult, particularly if you are acting alone. If you join smoking cessation programs, you have a much better chance of success. Such programs are offered by hospitals, health departments, community centers, and work sites.

The best quit-smoking programs combine multiple strategies, including peer support and ways to overcome potential relapse situations. Counseling by

telephone can be a very helpful reinforcement, even as effective as face-to-face counseling.

Short-term use of the antidepressant medication along with a quit-smoking program, may increase your success.

If you aren't successful the first time, simply look at what occurred or what didn't work, develop new strategies, and try again. Many attempts are often necessary to finally "beat the habit."

THE BENEFITS OF QUITTING

Within 20 minutes of quitting - your blood pressure and pulse rate drop to normal and the temperature of your hands and feet increases to normal.

Within 8 hours of quitting - your carbon monoxide levels drop and your oxygen levels increase, both to normal levels.

Within 24 hours of quitting - your risk of a sudden heart attack decreases.

Within 48 hours of quitting - nerve endings begin to regenerate and your senses of smell and taste begin to return to normal.

Within 2 weeks to 3 months of quitting - your circulation improves and walking becomes easier; even your lung function increases up to 30%.

Within 1 to 9 months of quitting - your overall energy typically increases and symptoms like coughing, nasal congestion, fatigue, and shortness of breath diminish; also, the small hair like projections lining your lower airways begin to function normally. This increases your lungs' ability to handle mucus, clean the airways, and reduce infections.

Within 1 year of quitting - your risk of coronary heart disease is half that of someone still using tobacco.

Within 5 years of quitting - the lung cancer death rate decreases by nearly 50% compared to one pack/day smokers; the risk of cancer of the mouth is half that of a tobacco user.

Within 10 years of quitting - your lung cancer death rate becomes similar to that of someone who never smoked; precancerous cells are replaced with normal cells; your risk of stroke is lowered, possibly to that of a nonuser; your risk of cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus, bladder, kidney, and pancreas all go down.

Extra benefits : Stopping smoking isn't about losing something it's about gaining a lot! The benefits will soon start adding up:

Have more money : Stopping a pack-a-day habit is like a Rs. 300/- a week pay rise! You can also save money in other ways. Life, fire etc. The money soon adds up when you stop. Think about what you could buy when you quit?

Improve your looks: Within days of stopping smoking you'll no longer smell of stale smoke and cigarette butts. Clean your clothes, house and car to make your whole life sweet smelling! Your skin will be brighter and your eyes less red and sore.

Get fitter: Your energy levels will soon soar when you stop smoking, making it easier to run for the bus or play sports with your friends.

Taste: Food will become a pleasure again as your taste buds kick back in!

Have more time: It takes about 10 minutes to smoke a cigarette so a 10-a-day smoker can save nearly 2 hours a day when they give up. That's enough time to enjoy with the family.

Improve self confidence: Many smokers are shocked to find how quickly they get hooked on smoking and stopping gives a real boost to confidence and self-esteem.

You will NOT have to spend hundreds of rupees buying medicines or supplements that will NOT help you quit smoking,

You will NOT have to put on patches, chew gums, swallow pills, use an inhaler, or ingest any other foreign substance,

You will NOT have to follow any new and special diet, although we recommend the intervals at which you eat throughout the day and tell you one substance to avoid at all costs (we also want you to drink plenty of water),

The Tobacco Industry kills more people in North America from Monday to Thursday of each week than the terrorists murdered in total on Sept. 11, 2001

90% of lung cancer occurs in those who have smoked. Each package delivers the equivalent of one chest x-ray.

When it comes right down to it, aren't you tired of being a slave to cigarettes?

AT THE END IT IS AGAIN REQUESTED ,IF YOU SMOKE,

PLEASE STOP .

T H A N K S

WE ARE INTERESTED IN EVERYONE’S SAFETY – ESPECIALLY YOURS