Killing you softly

By:

Dr. Madan M. Vasandani

Family Physician

Centrepoint Healthcare

As a doctor and a person who suffers from Asthma, I will not make my dislike towards cigarette smoking a secret. I do not have a problem with the smoker; it is the cigarette that I absolutely detest. Indonesia, one of the most populated countries in the world, boasts that upto 40% percent of its population smokes. This is a staggering 80 million people. Indonesia also has the world’s highest percentage of young smokers.

An average person living in Indonesia spends about Rp. 450, 000 on cigarettes. 

Maybe this amount is not too significant for you. But what many do not realize is that they actually spend extra to restore their health because of smoking. An average smoker gets sick 2 times more often than a non-smoker. The family of the smoker also gets sick twice as much as families of a non-smoker. The insurance premium for a smoker is about 1.2 times more for a smoker than a non-smoker. In Indonesia, for the ‘man of the house’ who is a smoker, he has to shell out an additional 6 million per year to restore his and his family’s health merely because of cigarettes. 

Many people smoke out of habit, not out of addiction. The reasons for smoking are mostly psychological, but nicotine addiction makes it hard to quit smoking once you have developed the habit. Habits can be broken – it’s a matter of really wanting to break it and dealing properly with the withdrawal symptoms. Would you make a habit out of eating rat poison?Probably not, but if you smoke, you might as well. 250 of the more than 4000 chemicals in tobacco smoke are harmful and more than 50 are known to cause cancer.

Smoking is a habit that kills… not only the smoker, but the people around them too. Don’t think that just because you don’t smoke, you’re not prone to suffering the same disease as smokers. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that passive smoking causes 600,000 premature deaths per year, 31% of which are children who are passive smokers. 

Not enough to make you want to quit, or get your loved ones to quit? Consider the following questions:

1. Does smoking a cigarette make you relax?Dopamine is one of the reasons why people smoke. When nicotine reaches your blood it stimulates the release of dopamine, which in turn causes you to relax. Did you know that watching a movie, going out for a walk, listening to music or playing with your kids releases the same amount of Dopamine as a single cigarette?
2. Does smoking taste good? I’m fairly certain your answer is “No”. The chemicals in cigarettes affect your taste buds located in your tongue and palate and dull your ability to taste. You are missing out on so many wonderful flavors! Good news though – kick the habit and your sense of taste and smell will begin to return within 48 hours.
3. Does smoking make you feel cool? If the answer is Yes, Did you know that only 1 in 12 girls like the smell of cigarette on you, the rest 11 are absolutely disgusted by it. I am sure the one girl who likes your smell might be a smoker too and she’s probably lost all her sense of smell because of cigarettes. 2 out of 3 individuals hate that they are passive smokers. If you feel you are on top of the world because of that cigarette in your hand, it’s time to tumble down - nobody reallylikes to be around a smoker.
4. Would you pay to get wrinkles earlier than you should? I would think not. By smoking 10 cigarettes/day you are actually compounding your lung age by 15%. Hence if you are 30 years old and you smoke 10 cigarettes a day, your lungs are actually 34 years of age. If you started smoking at the age of 30, you have been smoking 10 cigarettes per day and you are now 50, your lung age is actually that of a 70 year old. You are actually paying to age yourself.
5. Do you actually think, by smoking that “mild” cigarette you can actually do those extreme sports as advertised on TV and magazines?Don’t be fooled by good advertising. Do you really think that by smoking cigarettes  you will actually be more fit so you can do all those extreme sports. You have to be in top shape to be doing all that. Trust me cigarettes, however mild they are does not improve your fitness level.

Most people quit smoking only after being diagnosed with a severe condition, like a heart attack, emphysema, or lung cancer, in which case it is too late. It seems that health is not enough of a major concern for smokers, no matter how inundated with facts they are.

I hope with this article you realize that from whatever aspect you defend your habit;absolutely no good comes out of it. Smoking destroys your health, disrupts your bank balance and slowly but surely makes you a social outcast. 

Call Centrepoint Healthcare at 5706208 to inquire about our Stop Smoking Program if you really want to stop smoking.