Quit smoking today!

As todAY IS World No Tobacco Day, I would like to highlight some of the reasons why one should quit smoking. Most people know that smoking tobacco is a major risk factor for Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs). They also know about the relationship between smoking and lung cancer. However, smoking is also linked to heart disease, stroke and other chronic lung diseases. As a matter of fact, smoking has so much negative impact on health that this article cannot highlight and discuss all of them. Smoking can also increase the risk for cancer of the bladder, throat, mouth, kidneys, cervix and pancreas.{{more}}

Smoking is the most preventable cause of death in many countries. That is, the causes of death are due to diseases that are due to or are influenced by smoking. In St Vincent and the Grenadines NCDs is the leading cause of death and smoking is a major risk factor, as highlighted above.

Secondly, almost one third of deaths from coronary heart disease are attributable to smoking and second-hand smoke. Smoking is also linked to about 90 per cent of lung cancer cases in the United States. If studies are done in St Vincent and the Grenadines, it will not be surprising that there is a significant link between lung cancer and smoking. On average, smokers die more than 10 years earlier than non-smokers.

Smokers aren’t the only ones affected by tobacco smoke. Second-hand smoke is a serious health hazard for non-smokers, especially children. Non-smokers who have high blood pressure or high blood cholesterol have an even greater risk of developing heart diseases when they are exposed to second-hand smoke.

Second-hand tobacco smoke contributes to a large number of premature heart disease deaths and to lung cancer deaths. Studies show that the risk of developing heart disease is about 25-30 percent higher among people exposed to environmental tobacco smoke at home or work.

Second-hand smoke promotes illness, too. Children of smokers have many more respiratory infections than do children of non-smokers. These children tend to suffer from asthma, bronchitis and other respiratory illness.

Quitting smoking is not easy. People quit because of various reasons. Trying to live a healthy life should be one of the principal reasons for quitting. Thousands of people kick the habit every year, and you can be one of them if you really want to. It may not be easy, but you can do it! Quit Smoking Today!

Dr Rosmond Adams is a medical doctor and a public health specialist.

He may be emailed at adamsrosmond@gmail.com