Why stop smoking?

Previously, my column featured some of the hazards brought about by smoking to us humans and the environment, and why we should cut back, or even completely stop smoking. Smoking currently kills 5.4 million people around the world, yearly. In the Philippines, about 75,000 people die yearly due to smoking-related causes. Smoking reduces life expectancy by 15 to 25 years. What is ironic about this is that unlike other major causes of death like AIDS, vehicular accidents and homicides, smoking-related deaths are preventable, if we’ll only learn to stop the habit.

In-depth studies have shown that although cutting down on smoking can be a helpful first step in giving up smoking, it doesn’t really make any difference to the long-term risk of dying from cardiovascular disease or smoking-related cancers. That means there can be no half measures for smokers. Either you totally stop or face the risk of developing serious ailments. Of course, I understand that quitting smoking is not easy, especially to those who are heavy smokers. It may therefore help to remind them how bad smoking is for their health, why they might find it difficult to stop and how much there is to gain from stopping. Tobacco smoke contains nicotine, which  causes both physical and psychological dependence. This is a complex form of addiction as you will still have a strong desire to smoke, even if you wish to stop. Aside from this, smokers continue smoking because they experience unpleasant withdrawal effects when they stop.

I’ve already previously mentioned the many ill effects of smoking on people’s health. The worst thing about cigarettes is when the smoke that comes out from it is inhaled by non-smokers. Second-hand smoke has been proven to increase the risk of people having heart disease and lung cancer by 25 percent. It will also have an impact on children’s health and they are more likely to start smoking if they see their parents smoking at home. On the other hand, there are numerous benefits that smokers stand to reap when they stop. By stopping this bad habit, you can improve your health and enjoy a longer, healthier life. Smokers in their thirties and forties have a heart attack rate that is five times higher than non-smokers. Quitting will rapidly reduce the risk of developing heart disease. Studies have shown that although long-term smoking may still permanently damage arteries, the mortality rates among people with heart disease were reduced by 36% when they stopped smoking, compared to people who continued to smoke. Quitting almost immediately improves lung function. Some evidence also suggests that benefits for the lungs are even more substantial for women who quit than men. A study of women smokers revealed that those with type 2 diabetes were at high risk for heart disease. Quitting smoking reduced this risk substantially.

Another benefit of stopping smoking is economic in nature. A pack of cigarettes, on the average, costs around P30. A heavy smoker can consume one, even two packs, of cigarettes a day. P30 multiplied by 365 days is equivalent to P10,950. That’s a lot of money that can be used for other beneficial purposes. With the way prices of basic commodities are rising, one can really ill afford to have vices. Smoking also causes damaged, wrinkled skin. Quitting it is likely to make you look better too. So clearly, there’s so much to lose if you don’t stop smoking and a lot more to gain if you do. As what King James I of England once wrote in his 1604 treatise A Counterblast to Tobacco, smoking is . . . . “A custom loathsome to the eye, hateful to the nose, harmful to the brain, dangerous to the lungs, and in the black, stinking fume thereof, nearest resembling horrible Stygian smoke of the pit that is bottomless”.