Smoking

Window on America Center

Kirovohrad Oblast Research Library Named After

Chizhevsky

Country Study Series

Karin N. Jones

Community Development Volunteer, Peace Corps Ukraine

Introduction

• Tobacco use is a major preventable cause of

premature death and disease worldwide.

• Tobacco kills up to half of its users.

• Approximately 5.4 million people die each year

due to tobacco-related illnesses.

− This number is expected to increase to more than

8 million a year by 2030.

• More than 80% of the world’s one billion

smokers live in low- and middle-income

countries.

Why Smoking is Addictive • Cigarettes contain nicotine, which is proven to be

addictive.

• Like heroin or cocaine, nicotine changes the way

your brain works and causes you to crave more and

more nicotine.

• These powerful cravings make it hard for you to

think about anything else. Smoking causes both

physical and mental addiction.

• Cigarettes have nicotine in them because tobacco

companies want people to become addicted.

• Nicotine addiction is so powerful that every day

about 1,000 teens become daily smokers.

− Most current smokers became addicted as teenagers.

Why do People Start Smoking? • Peer Pressure/Peer Acceptance – Many young people start smoking because their friends have

tried it or smoke themselves.

• Family – People who grow up in an environment where their parents, grandparents and older

siblings smoke often also smoke.

• Rebellion – Some people start smoking as an act of rebellion or defiance against their parents or

people of authority.

• To appear older and more grown up – especially when people surrounded by adults who smoke.

• Advertising – advertising gives the impression that smoking is sociable. People may think they can

make new friends or attract a partner by looking sexy, sultry and smoky.

• Imitation - Some young people start to smoke because their favorite film star or pop star smokes.

Why do People Keep Smoking? Many people smoke even though they know how bad it is for their health. Also, over 50% of smokers wish that

they didn't smoke and that they could give up tomorrow. So why do they keep smoking?

• Nicotine is highly addictive.

• People think that they need cigarettes in order to cope with stress or nerves.

• People say it relaxes them.

• Fear of gaining weight.

• Habit and boredom.

• A way to meet people.

How Smoking Harms You • Tobacco smoke is a toxic mix of more than 7,000 chemicals, many of which are poisons.

• Poisons in tobacco smoke harm your body from the moment they enter your mouth.

• When you inhale cigarette smoke, these poisons go through your blood to all parts of your body.

• When these chemicals get into your body’s tissues, they cause damage. Your body must fight to

heal the damage each time you smoke. Over time, the damage can lead to disease.

• Smoking leaves you vulnerable to illnesses.

• The poisons in smoke affect you immediately, and the longer your smoke, the more you hurt

your body.

Health Effects of Smoking • Smoking harms nearly every organ of the body.

• Smoking causes many diseases and reduces the

health of smokers in general.

• Tobacco use reduces not only your life

expectancy but your quality of life.

− Many medical conditions caused by smoking can

result not just in death, but in living for years with

disabling health problems.

Health Effects of Smoking • Brain

− Stroke – smoking narrows the arteries to your brain, causing them to become

blocked. This causes a stroke that can result in permanent paralysis, inability

to speak, disability, or death.

− Addiction – when you smoke, you inhale the drug nicotine. In a very short

time you may find it difficult to control how much you smoke or to quit

smoking. Many people do not realize they are dependent upon tobacco until

they try to quit.

• Eyes

− Smoking causes irreversible damage to the back of the eye. Ultimately it can

cause blindness.

• Mouth

− Cancer – smoking is the major cause of cancer affecting the mouth and

throat. These cancers can result in surgery, problems eating and swallowing,

and speech problems.

− Other effects – smoking causes bad breath, stained teeth, and a decrease in

the ability to taste. Smoking increases the risk of dental diseases and can result

in the loss of teeth, impaired healing after surgery, and causes oral cancer.

Health Effects of Smoking • Heart

− Clogged arteries – smoking narrows the arteries of the heart, causing them to become clogged, and can

lead to heart attacks, stroke, heart disease, gangrene of the feet and impotence.

− Heart Disease – clogged arteries lead to heart attacks and death. Smoking can double your risk of dying

from a heart attack.

• Lungs

− Cancer – nine out of ten lung cancers are caused by smoking. Most people who get lung cancer die from

it.

− Emphysema – this is a disease where the air sacs in the lungs are destroyed, making it hard to breathe.

Nearly all emphysema is caused by tobacco smoking.

Health Effects of Smoking • Reproductive Organs

− Men – men who smoke have a much higher likelihood of developing impotence than non-

smokers. That risk is increased as the number of cigarettes smoked increases. Smoking may also

affect the quality of sperm, decrease a man’s sperm count and affect the volume of semen.

− Women – smoking during pregnancy decreases the amount of oxygen and nutrients that reach a

growing baby. This increases the risk of stillbirth, miscarriage, premature birth, and causes

complications during birth. Women who smoke may also have more difficulty getting pregnant,

experience menopause earlier, and have a high risk of cervical and vulvar cancer.

• Feet/Legs

− Smoking damages blood vessels, which can prevent blood circulation, which results in blood

clots, infection, gangrene and even amputation.

Second-Hand Smoke • Second-hand smoke is the smoke that fills restaurants, offices or other

spaces when people burn tobacco products such as cigarettes, bidis and

water pipes. Everyone is exposed to its harmful effects.

• It is three to four times more toxic than regular tobacco smoke.

• Second-hand tobacco smoke kills 600,000 people each year.

• About 40% of all children are regularly exposed to second-hand smoke at

home.

• Youths exposed to second-hand smoke at home are one-and-a-half to

two times more likely to start smoking than those not exposed.

• Globally, it is estimated that about one third of adults are regularly

exposed to second-hand tobacco smoke.

• Exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke causes illness, disability and

death from a wide range of diseases.

• Separate or ventilated smoking areas do not protect non-smokers from

second-hand smoke. Second-hand smoke can spread from a smoking

area to a non-smoking area, even if the doors between the two areas are

closed and even if ventilation is provided.

Smoking in Ukraine • As of 2010, approximately 11 million Ukrainians, or 29% of the population, smoke cigarettes.

• Fifty percent of males and eleven percent of females in Ukraine smoke.

• Smoking prevalence among Ukrainian men is among the highest in the world.

• Among youth (age 13-15), almost one-fourth (24 percent) currently smoke cigarettes.

• Approximately 115,000 Ukrainians die each year from smoking-related diseases.

• Ukrainian male life expectancy is much lower than male life expectancy in Western Europe, in

part due to high rates of tobacco consumption.

Smoking in Ukraine According to the World Health Organization:

• There is no national toll-free helpline for quitting smoking.

• Smoking cessation support is not offered at hospitals or

primary care facilities.

− It is available in the offices of health care professionals and

elsewhere in the community.

• There is a law that requires that warnings about smoking be printed

on cigarette packages.

− However, these warnings are not posted on black-market

cigarettes, which are commonly found in Ukraine.

• There are only partial advertising bans on tobacco products.

− Banned – National television and radio, local magazines and

newspapers, billboards and other outdoor advertising.

− Not banned – International television and radio, international

magazines and newspapers, Internet, point of sale,

promotional materials, sponsored events, non-tobacco

products identified with tobacco brand names, product

placement, and others.

Deaths in Ukraine from smoking • About 1.9 million people in Ukraine died from smoking between

1980 and 2000.

• About 74% of those people, or 1.4 million, were still in middle age

(35-69 years old) when they died.

• Smoking kills about 98,000 people in Ukraine each year.

− Cancer – Smoking is a cause of most of the lung cancer deaths in the

world and it also causes some deaths from cancer of other parts of

the body, including the mouth, throat, stomach, pancreas, liver and

bladder, and others.

− Heart disease and stroke

− Respiratory diseases - emphysema, chronic obstructive lung disease,

pneumonia and influenza. It even makes people more likely to die

from tuberculosis.

− Other illnesses caused by smoking - The “other” deaths from

smoking include some deaths from diseases such as stomach ulcer,

and many of the deaths that were partly due to cancer, vascular or

respiratory disease but did not get attributed to this on the death

certificate.

• About 19 years of a person’s life are lost when the person dies

early from smoking.

Reasons to Quit Smoking • Smoking impairs your ability to think.

• It may bring on diabetes.

• Smokers get sick more often than nonsmokers.

• Smokers have more sexual problems than nonsmokers.

• It ages you…quickly.

• It causes all kinds of health problems, from cancer to ulcers and others.

• You’ll sleep better.

• You’ll have stronger bones.

• You’ll save money.

• Your teeth will be whiter.

• You will be able to smell and taste your food.

• You won’t make other people sick.

• You’ll be more kissable!

Tips for Quitting Smoking • If you want to stop smoking, the most important first step is to admit that you are addicted

to tobacco.

− Admitting that you're smoking more out of addiction than choice will help motivate you to go on to

the next steps -- taking control of yourself and becoming a nonsmoker.

• Ask for help

− Eighty percent of smokers who quit do so without being in any program.

− Studies show that 95% of these people fail, and go back to smoking within 12 months.

• The first few days, drink LOTS of water and fluids to help flush out the nicotine and other

poisons from your body.

• Remember that the urge to smoke only lasts a few minutes, and then will pass. The urges gradually

become farther and farther apart as the days go by.

• Do your very best to stay away from alcohol, sugar and coffee the first week or longer, as

these tend to stimulate the desire for a cigarette.

• Chew gum or suck on cinnamon sticks.

Tips for Quitting Smoking • Eat slowly.

• Get some exercise. Change your normal routine – take time to walk or even jog around the block

or in a local park.

• Ask friends and family members not to smoke in your presence. Don't be afraid to ask. This is

more important than you may realize.

• Don't pretend smoking wasn't enjoyable – it was. Quitting can be like losing a dear old friend –

and it's okay to grieve that loss.

• Several times a day, quietly repeat to yourself the affirmation, "I am a nonsmoker."

− Many quitters see themselves as smokers who are just not smoking for the moment. They have a self-

image as smokers who still want a cigarette. Silently repeating the affirmation "I am a nonsmoker" will

help you change your view of yourself, and, even if it may seem silly to you, this is actually useful.

• Thank you for reading this study on Smoking!