The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that by 2030 tobacco will be responsible for the deaths of more than 8 million people a year worldwide. Currently, it is responsible for the death of more than five million people a year worldwide, being the cause of 1 in 10 deaths in adulthood through various pathologies. It is also the most preventable cause of death among the 5 main mortality risk factors.
Tobacco consumption is one of the main risk factors for vascular diseases, being the direct cause of 30% percent of them. Tobacco multiplies by four the risk of suffering from cerebrovascular disease, coronary artery disease or peripheral vascular disease, with nicotine and carbon monoxide (CO) present in tobacco smoke being the substances that have the greatest harmful effect on health vascular. Tobacco, however, is not a risk factor for the development of high blood pressure. Tobacco is obviously the cause of severe respiratory disorders, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD), which are chronic bronchitis and pulmonary emphysema. In addition, tobacco use has been linked to idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and bronchiolitis obliterans with organizing pneumonia, and increases the risk of pneumothorax.
tobacco and cancer
Tobacco smoke is the main environmental carcinogen to which we are all actively or passively exposed. It is responsible for a third of all tumors in men and 10% percent of cancers in women. Their relationship is linear, that is, the greater the consumption, the greater the risk of suffering from cancer.
Passive smokers have a 25% per higher risk of lung cancer than non-smokers. Tobacco has been clearly linked to various types of cancers, such as cancer of the oral cavity, lip, pharynx, larynx, esophagus, stomach, liver, pancreas, lung, colon, kidney, bladder and cervix. Likewise, tobacco consumption has also been related to the appearance of other pathologies, such as:
Recurrent respiratory infections.
Gastroduodenal ulcer.
Stomatitis and periodontitis.
Inhibition of taste and smell.
Healing alterations
Low birth weight.
Previous placenta.
Placental abruption.
premature abortions.
Skin dehydration.
social repercussions
In In addition to the repercussions on the health of each person, at the social level, smoking entails a significant economic cost, not only because of the public health expenses allocated to the treatment of diseases derived from tobacco consumption, but also because smoking it contributes to the premature death of people who are in full productive life, depriving families of a source of sustenance and reducing the working-age population of a society.
physical and psychological dependence
Smoking is therefore a chronic addictive disorder in which the patient has a physical and psychological dependence on tobacco. 27% out of the population over 16 years of age is a smoker to a greater or lesser degree and it is estimated that approximately half will die from a disease related to tobacco use. However, quitting tobacco at age 30 almost completely avoids the risk caused by its consumption, while quitting at age 50 reduces it by half.
Quitting is not easy
butMore than 60% percent of smokers have tried to quit at one time or another, but not all with the same result, sometimes due to a real lack of will and others due to a lack of adequate medical, pharmacological and social means to be able to carry it out. the dishabituation Any health professional who is consulted is obliged to advise on the benefits to the body of quitting tobacco. As in many other cases, quitting smoking will be a task that will require a
