TOBACCO smoking is the main cause for unhealthy lungs, lung cancer, and over 20 other types of cancer, and that is why the Cancer Association of South Africa (CANSA) is urging everyone to consider quitting the use of tobacco in any form as part of its 365 Day Health Challenge, and leading up to #WorldNoTobaccoDay on 31 May.
“Smoking is also a concern among the youth in South Africa. Nearly 28 per cent of learners from Grade 8 to 11 and over 80 per cent of people aged between 14 and 18 years reportedly admitted to having smoked in the 2011 South African Youth Risk Behaviour Survey.”
“Youth are led to believe that hookah smoking or using hubbly bubbly is not harmful and that e-cigarettes are a safe alternative to smoking, but hookah use has many of the same health risks as cigarette smoking and the safety of e-cigarettes has not yet been scientifically shown. Testing has highlighted that e-cigarettes vary widely in the amount of nicotine and other chemicals they deliver, and this is not communicated to buyers. Nicotine exposure also negatively affects brain development in teens and young adults,” stated Elize Joubert, CANSA CEO.
The global health burden caused by tobacco smoking is responsible for over two thirds of lung cancer deaths and accounts for one in five cases of Tuberculosis (TB).
Even if someone isn’t a smoker, second-hand smoke from people smoking around them can increase their risk for lung cancer. Tobacco smoking and second-hand smoke can also trigger inactive TB infections.
Those with active TB may risk disability or even death by smoking. Smokers with HIV have three times the chance of getting TB compared to non-smokers with HIV.
ALSO READ: Cigarette butts are a bigger pollution problem than plastic straws
e-Cigarettes must be included when considering health risk, because the use of these products leads to the emission of fine/ultrafine inhalable liquid particles, nicotine and cancer-causing substances into the air.
Joubert added: “Ten years after quitting smoking, personal cancer risk is half that of a smoker, and immediate health benefits may be experienced. Although e-cigarettes have been marketed as aids to help quit smoking, the evidence that they help is unsupported. In fact they may encourage more regular use of nicotine. They are also more expensive than cigarettes, and smokers may return to cigarettes to save money.”
CANSA encourages smokers to acknowledge that smoking is harmful and decide to quit and find support. View helpful tips from Allen Carr’s Easyway to Stop Smoking Programme – a CANSA Smart Choice: https://bit.ly/2qlpXjb.
Those wanting to quit can subscribe to CANSA’s eKick Butt programme: www.ekickbutt.org.za that provides a series of handy tools to help you quit through a series of emails. Or call the National Council Against Smoking (NCAS) Quit Line on 011 720 3145 or email: quit@iafrica.com.
Do you want to receive news alerts on this and many other stories relevant to the Durban area via WhatsApp? Send us a WhatsApp message (not an sms) with your name and surname to 060 532 5535.
You can also join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
PLEASE NOTE: If you have signed up for our news alerts you need to save the Berea Mail WhatsApp number as a contact to your phone, otherwise you will not receive our alerts
