{"id":69,"date":"2009-02-04T14:59:49","date_gmt":"2009-02-04T14:59:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/?p=69"},"modified":"2012-09-05T07:42:26","modified_gmt":"2012-09-05T07:42:26","slug":"smoke-signals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/smoke-signals\/","title":{"rendered":"Smoke Signals"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Kiki Tan<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Marlboro Man, with his Stetson hat and cowboy boots, gave a face to millions of cigarette smokers worldwide as he exuded virility and masculinity, traits stereotypically associated with smoking.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The advertisement remains, but its stars are long gone. Wayne McLaren, the Marlboro Man in the promotional photographs first published in 1976, died of lung cancer on July 22, 1992. The other Marlboro Man in the advertisement, David McLean, suffered severe emphysema and died of lung malignancy in 1995.<\/p>\n

So, what is the truth about smoking?<\/p>\n

DESTRUCTION BY SMOKE<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cSmoking is extremely addictive, and the cigarette is the vehicle that initiates and sustains the addiction,\u201d warns Dr. Daniel Tan, president of Tobacco-Free Philippines (TFP).<\/p>\n

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III acknowledges that smoking kills, saying that three Filipinos die every hour from tobacco use. \u201cThere is absolutely nothing beneficial about it,\u201d he says. \u201cIt is harmful (physically) because it causes wrinkles, baldness, darkened lips and gums, and yellow teeth and nails, making you look old and ugly. It is harmful to others, who will not only be turned off by your bad breath, but may receive so much exposure from secondhand smoke that they will inevitably die from lung cancer or heart disease. And it is harmful to one\u2019s manhood as it causes erectile dysfunction and impotence.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unless smokers immediately stop their habit, they can end up being among the projected 10 million people who will die by 2020, Duque warns. Of this figure, 70% are expected to come from developing countries.<\/p>\n

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that a third of the world\u2019s male adult population smokes. Among teenagers aged 13 to 15, one out of five is a smoker. In the Philippines, 60% of male adults and 11% of female adults smoke.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

SMOKE SCRUTINY<\/strong>
Unless smokers immediately stop their habit, they can end up being among the projected 10 million people who will die by 2020. Of this figure, 70% are expected to come from developing countries.<\/p><\/div>\n

Curiously, while the smoking rate in developed countries has declined through the years, it continues to rise in developing nations, the WHO states. The Philippines alone ranks first in sales for Philip Morris International\u2019s Asian region market. The country is also the 15th biggest consumer of cigarettes in the world and the largest consumer among the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).<\/p>\n

\u201cThe WHO is saying that 80% of today\u2019s smokers live in developing countries, with tobacco consumption rising by 3.4% per year,\u201d says Dr. Dante Morales, former president of the Philippine Heart Association and the Philippine College of Physicians.<\/p>\n

One probable reason for the disparity is that developed countries have adopted the United Nations Framework Convention on Tobacco Control that aims to reduce tobacco-related diseases and deaths worldwide. Developing countries have not. Thus, measures such as bans on direct and indirect tobacco advertising, increases in tobacco taxes and prices, and the inclusion of large, clear, graphic health messages in tobacco packaging are already applied in developed countries, but largely ignored in developing nations.<\/p>\n

COST OF SMOKING<\/strong><\/p>\n

WHO studies also show that in low-income countries, smokers spend 10% to 17% of total household expenditures on tobacco, significantly reducing the money that is supposed to be used for essential items, such as food, healthcare and education.<\/p>\n

But the cost of smoking involves a great deal more than money.<\/p>\n

Smokers have a greater risk of dying young, or of having medical problems, with smoking-related diseases killing one in 10 adults globally, or 4.9 million people per year. It is predicted that by 2020, smoking will claim 10 million lives per year since every cigarette smoked cuts at least five minutes of a smoker\u2019s life.<\/p>\n

These risks are reflected on the premium payments of smokers who pay more for health care and prescription medicines because of increased medical problems. Smoking leads to or aggravates lung cancer, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, osteoporosis, hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism and diabetes.<\/p>\n

Dental care also costs more for smokers since smoking can damage gums and teeth. Regular use of tobacco leaves yellow stains on the teeth that require special cleaning.<\/p>\n

Studies show that smokers tend to earn less than non-smokers because of reduced productivity. These studies state that smokers earn 4% to 11% less than their counterparts due to higher absenteeism and earlier retirement because of ill health.<\/p>\n

Smokers, of course, also compromise the health of non-smokers who are exposed to secondhand smoke.<\/p>\n

BEATING THE HABIT<\/strong><\/p>\n

Fortunately, the government has not been entirely oblivious to the perils of smoking. Since 1995, the Department of Health (DOH) has been working with health advocates to push effective tobacco control legislation with positive results. In 2003, Republic Act No. 9211, the Tobacco Regulation Act, was enacted to regulate the sale and use of tobacco nationwide.<\/p>\n

It is, however, the private sector that continues to take the initiative to curb smoking.<\/p>\n

TFP\u2019s Tan notes that in the Philippines where nicotine rehabilitation centers are rare, cold turkey is \u201cthe only way to successfully quit smoking since there is currently no available intervention that will help patients overcome the withdrawal symptoms that come with smoking cessation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pharmaceutical companies have, however, produced \u201csmoking cessation aids\u201d such as Pfizer Consumer Healthcare\u2019s Nicorette, a gum that helps smokers quit the habit successfully through nicotine replacement therapy (NRT). Basically, the gum changes the way a smoker gets a nicotine fix, which long-time smokers are dependent on, by providing them with nicotine without the tar, carbon monoxide and 5,000 other toxic gases that come from cigarette smoking. Once the gum is chewed, nicotine is released into the saliva that is then absorbed through the lining of the mouth.<\/p>\n

Nicotine patches are another form of NRT, but the nicotine transfer is done through the skin (transdermal).<\/p>\n

\u201cThose who have successfully quit smoking know that quitting can be a huge challenge,\u201d says Dr. Randy Ca\u00f1al, Pfizer ASEAN area manager, Regulatory Affairs\/Medical Research and Development. \u201cWith these products, smokers can hopefully take better control of their cigarette craving and eventually stop smoking.”<\/p>\n

According to the American Cancer Society, as early as 20 minutes after quitting smoking, a smoker\u2019s blood pressure, pulse rate, heart rate, blood circulation and body temperature of the hands and feet return to normal. Eight hours after quitting, cigarette breath disappears as the carbon monoxide blood level drops. Within 24 hours, chances of heart attacks decrease. In 48 hours, nerve endings in the nose and the mouth start growing again, thereby enhancing the smell and taste senses as mucus from the lungs begins to clear. From three weeks to three months after quitting, the lung function increases to as much as 30%. A year after quitting, excess risk of coronary heart diseases is cut in half. And 10 years after quitting, the death rate of smokers from lung cancer is almost equivalent to that of non-smokers.<\/p>\n

Despite all the information about the hazards of smoking, DOH\u2019s Duque says the decision to quit the habit remains a personal one. \u201cAnti-smokers can only do so much to help smokers quit since it is the smokers themselves who decide what to do with their habit,\u201d he points out. \u201cBut if one is to choose between living a long and healthy life and dying young because of smoking, the choice should be a no-brainer.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Smokers have a greater risk of dying young, or of having medical problems, with smoking-related diseases killing one in 10 adults globally, or 4.9 million people per year. It is predicted that by 2020, smoking will claim 10 million lives per year since every cigarette smoked cuts at least five minutes of a smoker\u2019s life. This one needs a plug.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":70,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36,3,35],"tags":[42,40,41],"class_list":["post-69","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health-wellness-2","category-spotlight","category-wellness-2","tag-marlboro-man","tag-smoking","tag-tobacco-free-philippines"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=69"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":222,"href":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69\/revisions\/222"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/70"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=69"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=69"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=69"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}