N. Longshio Yanthan
Shalom Rehab Centre, Chumukedima
A companion to the common man and a friend to the lonely Nicotine is what makes one die a slow death. A study on tobacco control points out that the first symptoms of nicotine addiction appear within a few days of starting to smoke, after a few cigarettes being smoked. The research explodes that nicotine dependence is a gradual process which occurs after prolonged daily cigarette smoking. It is what a Nicotine addict says “It caught up with me. I’ve spent my last month in an incubator. And I’m telling you the truth, it just isn’t worth it”. Wayne Mclaren, an actor and Hollywood stuntman said in an interview before he died. He smoked 30 cigarettes a day for 25 years and contacted cancer due to his excessive smoking. This is how nicotine kills the smokers slowly but surely.
Nicotine, one of more than 4,000 chemicals found in the smoke from tobacco products such as cigarettes, cigars and pipes, is the primary component in tobacco that acts on the brain. Smokeless tobacco products such as snuff and chewing tobacco also contain many toxins as well as high levels of nicotine. There are many species of tobacco plants; the tabacum species serves as the major source of tobacco products today. Since nicotine was first identified in the early 1800s, it has been studied extensively and shown to have a number of complex and sometimes unpredictable effects on the brain and the body.
Nicotine is a powerful, addictive stimulant and is one of the main factors leading to the continued tobacco smoking. It is a potent psychoactive drug that induces euphoria, serves as a reinforcer of its use, and leads to nicotine withdrawal syndrome when it is absent. Professionals say, the health risks of smoking are not uniform across all smokers but vary according to amount of cigarettes smoked, with those who smoke more cigarettes are at greater risk, although light smoking is still a health risk. Researchers are also beginning to find that there may be chemicals other than nicotine in cigarette smoke that contribute to tobacco’s addictiveness. This finding and many other new research accomplishments in the addiction arena are providing us with an unprecedented opportunity to curtail this enormous public health crisis.
The health consequences of nicotine addiction are enormous. Tobacco smoking is responsible for 1 of every 5 deaths and is the most common cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States. Children smoke 1.1 billion packs of cigarettes yearly. This accounts for more than $200 billion in future health care costs. Tobacco accounts for more than 85% of all deaths due to lung cancer. Approximately 10 million people in the United States have died from causes attributed to smoking since the Surgeon General’s first report in 1964; 2 million of these were from lung cancer alone. Furthermore, tobacco also has been identified as the leading cause of emphysema, bronchitis, and heart disease etc.
Passive or involuntary smoking occurs when the exhaled and ambient smoke (otherwise known as environmental or secondhand smoke) from one person’s cigarette is inhaled by other people. Involuntary smoking involves inhaling carcinogens, as well as other toxic components, that are present in secondhand tobacco smoke. Numerous studies have suggested that passive smoking can be harmful to human health, however the level of harm is controversial with research from alternative sources suggesting that the risk may not be as high as otherwise predicted. Passive smoking is one of the key issues in leading baning to smoking, particularly in workplaces.
In the United States, all television advertising of tobacco products has been prohibited since 1971. In Australia, the Tobacco Advertising Prohibition Act 1992 prohibits tobacco advertising in any form, with a very small number of exceptions (some international sporting events are excepted, but these exceptions will be revoked this year). Other countries have legislated particularly against advertising that appears to target minors. Moreover the European countries such as the Republic of Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Italy, Spain and Scotland have legislated against smoking in public places, often including bars and restaurants. Similar bans will also take effect in the rest of the UK at various intervals (Northern Ireland from April 2007, England from summer 2007 and Wales at a similar time).
In many countries, including the United States, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa and Australia, it is illegal to sell tobacco products to minors. In the United Kingdom, Austria and South Africa it is illegal to sell tobacco products to people under the age of 16. In 46 of the 50 United States, the minimum age is 18, except for Alabama, Alaska, New Jersey, and Utah where the legal age is 19. Some countries have also legislated against giving tobacco products to (i.e. buying for) minors, and even against minors engaging in the act of smoking. India has also promulgated laws to ban public smoking. Underlying such laws is the belief that people should make an informed decision regarding the risks of tobacco use.
On February 28, 2005, an international treaty, the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, took effect. The FCTC is the world’s first public health treaty. Countries that sign on as parties agree to a set of common goals, minimum standards for tobacco control policy, and to cooperate in dealing with cross-border challenges such as cigarette smuggling. Currently the WHO declares that 4 billion people will be covered by the treaty, which includes 92 signatories. Among other steps, signatories are to put together legislation that will eliminate second-hand smoke in indoor workplaces, public transport, and, indoor public places as appropriate.
To prevent the nicotine addiction, there are two types of medications available as part of a smoking cessation programme. Types include nicotine replacement therapy in the form of cutaneous patches, inhaled or nasal delivery, or chewing gum and the non–nicotine-containing tablet bupropion. These medications ameliorate withdrawal symptoms while the smoker deals with behavioral aspects of smoking cessation. If Nicotine is not addressed it can devour our generation and the next to come with a new disease without any warning. Be prepared to meet the challenge. “Some things are better eschewed than chewed; tobacco is one of them”- George Dennison prentice
