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Harmful effects of smoking

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Smoking is responsible for several diseases, such as lung cancer, long-term (chronic) respiratory diseases and heart diseases as well as premature death.

It poses one of the biggest threats to public health. It not only adversely affects those who indulge in this habit, but victims of passive smoking suffer as well. It is a common practice today to see teenagers smoke cigarettes and consume alcohol of various brands. Some of them even chew tobacco and tobacco products. These young men/women fail to foresee the consequences of their actions when they drink, smoke, eat gutka or consume tobacco or tobacco products.

Recent studies have found that smokers can undermine the health of non-smokers in some environments. ‘Cigarette smoking is injurious to health’. This is a tag line which is printed on all cigarette packets. We all read them; even smokers read them, but they ignore this warning. Why? Because they do not want to give up smoking as they have got habituated to it. They also know that cigarette not only causes pollution but pose health problems too. It is one of the main causes behind lung cancer. The smoke of a burning cigarette is very dangerous. Not only the smoker is in danger, but it is also hazardous to the health of the other person who is standing near him.

All smokers know and understand this perfectly well, yet there is something that prevents them from giving up smoking. Smoking is harmful for each and every organ of the body. Nicotine is a highly addictive drug found in tobacco. When a cigarette is burned and inhaled, a drug is released into the body which is called nicotine. It is a pleasure enhancing drug and people easily get addicted towards it. The intake of this drug stops your body growth and results in causing various diseases. The government cannot ban the sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products because banned items sometimes become more attractive to people and they will not quit smoking. The government also earns a huge revenue from the sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products.

Every time you attempt to give up smoking, you become aware about the favourable and unfavourable situations. You have to make up your mind and change your nearby environment if you want to give up smoking. Dispose all cigarettes and ashtrays from your workplace, car and home. Your family and friends can also help you to achieve this task. Don’t allow anyone to smoke around you (it may not be possible but at least try to avoid the craving when you see others smoking in front of you). More people should be made aware about the hazards of smoking. Restricting the sale of tobacco and tobacco products to a few select places with a special license can prove to be more productive.

When I was young, my friend was caught for smoking secretly in the school toilet. His parents became quite depressed when they were told about it. A few years later, he passed away due to lung cancer.

Parents should remain strict with their children. Schools must also take stern action against students who drink, smoke and gamble. The effects of smoking on human health are serious, and in many cases, deadly too. Carbon monoxide binds itself to the haemoglobin in the red blood cells far more effectively than oxygen; thus these cells, which are supposed to carry oxygen to different parts of the body, are unable to do so. As a result of this, the heart has to work much harder to supply adequate oxygen to the body. Cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption must be given up completely in favour of a healthy life.

 

Jubel D’Cruz

(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)

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