Tobacco: ten reasons to quit smoking

Tobacco is estimated to cause 8 million deaths a year, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), after warn that smokers are at greater risk of developing severe cases of COVID-19.

In Peru, people start smoking from the age of 15, according to reports from the Ministry of Health. A condition that significantly increases the risk of developing multiple diseases.

Quitting this bad habit is quite a challenge, but it's worth doing it. Dr. Victor Geng Chiong, internist at the Ricardo Palma Clinic, explains some reasons to stop this harmful habit.

* It is the leading cause of predictable premature death, since it is a habit acquired by people.

* Increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases (heart attacks, strokes) three times more, compared to people who do not smoke.

* It causes various types of cancer. Not only those linked to the respiratory system, tobacco damages almost all organs of the body, increasing the possibility of developing cancer of the stomach, esophagus, colon, liver, kidneys, bladder, leukemia, among others.

* It hinders the fertility of women, as well as pregnancy. Likewise, the risk of abortion and premature birth increases. If the expectant mother smokes during pregnancy, the baby may have congenital malformations. If the mother smokes after childbirth, it may lead to sudden infant death.

* The man who smokes may suffer from erectile dysfunction.

* Generates dependency. Nicotine is a highly addictive substance, found naturally in tobacco leaves. When absorbed by the lungs, cigarette smoke travels through the blood to the brain, generating a harmful habit.

* Cigar is a threat to the health of the family and friends of smokers. They often develop various pathologies due to continuous exposure to tobacco smoke.

* Tobacco is carcinogenic, whether it is inhaled or chewed.

* Affects fitness: skin looks stiff and accelerates the natural aging process, hair smells bad, teeth turn yellow, causes bad breath, etc.

* Children of smokers have reduced lung capacity and when they are adults they may have chronic lung disorders.

SMOKING AND COVID-19

The Spanish Society of Pulmonology and Thoracic Surgery (SEPAR) warns that smoking on the terraces of hotels, bars and restaurants makes them unsafe for both users and workers because of the risk of contagion of COVID-19, since the virus can spread with smoke up to eight meters away.

In addition, SEPAR also warns, with the forthcoming adoption of the decree on passive smoking and terraces, that other tobacco-associated diseases may also occur in passive smokers.

This scientific society, which is based in Barcelona, has already sent to the Ministry of Health five “indispensable” measures that should be included in the reform of the current Anti-Smoking Law, one of which is that terraces are free from tobacco smoke and toxic substances released by electronic devices used for vaping.

In addition, the society of pulmonologists believes that “this measure should not be approved only on a circumstantial basis, to prevent the spread of COVID-19 on the terraces, but on a permanent basis, to help prevent the spread of this and other respiratory infections”.

Pulmonologists have recalled that tobacco kills 60,000 people a year in Spain, a percentage of which corresponds to exposure to smoke in non-smokers, and that it is estimated that, throughout Europe, at least 22,000 deaths per year are due to passive smoking.

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