Admit it: at the end of a long and exhausting day, nothing beats the pleasure of taking a long drag, inhaling and just letting out the smoke. It’s relaxing, right? Even though you might be doing this frequently, the impact it’s having on your health is irreversible, to say the least.
“WHETHER YOU SMOKE RECREATIONALLY OR ARE ADDICTED TO IT, ACCORDING TO DR VILLOO MORAWALA-PATELL, FOUNDER AND CMD, AVESTHAGEN SAID, “THERE’S NOTHING POSITIVE ABOUT TOBACCO CONSUMPTION. IT KILLS ONE MILLION PEOPLE IN INDIA EACH YEAR.”
Shocking, right? If you fancy your daily cigarette breaks, then most presumably, your friends and family have begged you to quit on numerous occasions. Simply because you are voluntarily choosing to inhale poisonous smoke for a few moments of pleasure.
The effect of smoking on your health are many but mainly it’s responsible for causing:
- Heart issues
- Stroke
- Breathing Issues
- Chronic Bronchitis
- Lung Cancer
- Fatigue
- Migraine
- Erectile dysfunction
- Weak Immune System
The above list continues, and it’s important for you to know that tobacco is dangerous for your health. Dr Villoo Morawala-Patell added, “While no organ is immune to the destructive effects of tobacco, it has the worst impact on the lungs. What may start as a harmless cough can soon develop into asthma, and ultimately fatal and damaging diseases such as tuberculosis, pneumonia, emphysema, chronic bronchitis and lung cancer.”
“SHE FURTHER ADDED, “ACCORDING TO A GLOBAL BURDEN OF DISEASE STUDY BY THE INSTITUTE FOR HEALTH METRICS AND EVALUATION, OF THE MORE THAN 8 MILLION DEATHS ATTRIBUTED TO TOBACCO USE IN 2017, 2.88 MILLION OF THOSE DEATHS WERE FROM CHRONIC RESPIRATORY DISEASES.”
But knowing about long-term risks may not be enough to push you to quit, particularly if you’re young. It can be hard to feel truly threatened by diseases that may strike decades later. Though, the fact is, there are only side effects to smoking. And sooner or later you will face the repercussions.
SO WHAT’S THE SOLUTION?
Find your triggers and avoid them. Dr Villoo Morawala-Patell recommends researching tools which will help. “There are many factors which promote somebody to smoke: stress, social pressure and even poverty play an important role. So one must tackle these issues at a basic level,” she further commented.
So, if you are dedicated to kicking this deadly habit, then take control. First, learn how smoking is affecting your body because knowledge is power. Then educate yourself with holistic ways to deal with stress such as meditation, get active by joining the gym or taking up a sport and educate yourself. Last, but not least, always remind yourself that your smoking habit and dependence on tobacco, affects not only you but the people around you as well -so, take a vow to quit.