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Tobacco or rather cigarette smoking can be termed as a global epidemic. Global smoking statistics indicate that a third of male adults smoke. Every day, between 80,000 and 100,000 children in the adolescent stage start smoking (Quit SA, 2006). This happens despite the fact that every existing advertisement on cigarettes has a warning on the health impacts of smoking (Quit SA, 2006). The World Health organization states that nearly six million people die from smoking each year. 600 000 lives of passive smokers get lost every year indicating that tobacco smoking affects not only the direct smokers, but also those around them (World Health Organization, 2013). In the same light, the World Health Organization explains that 63% of all death result from non-communicable diseases acquired from cigarette smoking in one way or the other (World Health Organization, 2013). Among the diseases are the heart and lung diseases.

The correlation between tobacco smoking and lung diseases tends to be a well-known topic across all ages (Melinda, 2012). Tobacco smoking causes chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). COPD tends to be a long-term disease exhibited by shortness of breathing. Other symptoms include a lot of coughing and secretion of excessive amounts of mucus. The disease can be in the form of either chronic bronchitis due to inflammation of the bronchi, or emphysema in which the alveoli get destroyed making breathing difficult. Lung cancer kills many people every day. Lung cancer happens to be the first main ailment to be directly linked to cigarette smoking. Smoking tends to accelerate the rate of other lungs’ infections, such as asthma and pneumonia (Martin, 2012).

Other than lung infections, cigarette smoking causes heart diseases. The risk of heart attack increases immensely in smokers, and among smokers the risk increases with the increase in the number of cigarettes smoked (Quit SA, 2006). Stroke and peripheral vascular disease in women get accelerated by smoking. The above heart diseases result from the narrowing of blood vessels that reduce the transportation of blood to important body organs such as the brain. Nicotine happens to be one of the dangerous drugs contained in tobacco, and it happens to bear the most responsibility in the hardening of blood vessels (American Heart Association, 1995).

The above discussed effects of smoking happen to be just but a few of the many dangers of smoking. The World Health Organization realized this, and for that reason it campaigned against the advertisement, promotion, and sponsorship of cigarette smoking during the World No Tobacco Day on 31 May, 2013 (World Health Organization, 2013). Many countries in the world have enacted laws to control the sale of cigarettes and to discourage smoking. For instance, many countries have increased the levies charged on cigarettes and banned the advertisement of cigarettes. In other countries, the mostly concealed warning on smoking has been made to take 80% of the inscriptions on the cigarette packaging (World Health Organization, 2013). Together, the world gets rallied behind the campaign against smoking.

References

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Ecobichon, D. J., Wu, J. M., & International Symposium on Environmental Tobacco Smoke (1990). Environmental tobacco smoke: Proceedings of the international symposium at McGill University, 1989. Lexington, Mass: Lexington Books.

Martin, T. (2012, March 13). Global Smoking Statistics. Retrieved June 12, 2013, from http://quitsmoking.about.com/cs/antismoking/a/statistics.htm

Melinda, R. (2012, July 27). Smoking and Heart Disease. Retrieved June 12, 2013, from http://www.webmd.com/smoking-cessation/quit-smoking-heart

National Heart, L. (1996). Facts about heart disease and women: Kicking the smoking habit. Bethesda, MD: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health.

Quit SA (2006, January). Smoking and Lung Disease. Retrieved June 12, 2013, from http://www.oxygen.org.au/downloads/sadownloads/infosheet_lung_disease.pdf

Scott, W. J. (2000). Lung cancer: A guide to diagnosis and treatment. Omaha Neb: Addicus Books.

Torres, V. N. (2007). Lung cancer in women. New York: Nova Biomedical Books.

The U Environmental Protection Agency (1992). Respiratory health effects of passive smoking: Lung cancer and other disorders. Washington, D.C: Office of Health and Environmental Assessment, Office of Research and Development, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

World Health Organization (2013, May). WHO | Tobacco. Retrieved June 12, 2013, from http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs339/en/

World Health Organization (2013, May). WHO | World No Tobacco Day 2013. Retrieved June 12, 2013, from http://www.who.int/campaigns/no-tobacco-day/2013/en/index.html