Kick the smoking addiction this year

SMOKING has been part of cultural and societal practices for decades, and as a result, the World Health Organisation (WHO) attributes as many as eight million deaths to tobacco-related illnesses, with seven million as a direct result of tobacco use, and 1.2 million to second-hand smoke.

An estimated three million people in South Africa lost their jobs as a result of restrictions to curb the Covid-19 pandemic.

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Therefore, if individuals gave up smoking, they would not only reap the health benefits associated with giving up the addiction, but the financial as well.

Professor Richard van Zyl-Smit, Pulmonologist and Head of the Lung Clinical Research Unit (LCRU) at the University of Cape Town (UCT) Lung Institute, says research conducted by the US-based National Centre for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) on the hazards of smoking and benefits of cessation, acknowledges that smokers who start smoking early in adult life and do not quit, lose a decade of life expectancy versus non-smokers.

‘Chronic, non communicable diseases (NCD) are on the rise, with tobacco consumption being one of the important contributing risk factors for dying of an NCD,’ said Van Zyl.

‘Quitting will help protect not only personal health, but those around you, from exposure to second-hand smoke. ‘Smoking cessation, especially before the age of 40, results in a reduced risk in mortality.’

The WHO suggests that quitting allows the lungs and heart to function better from the moment a user stops. Within 20 minutes, the elevated heart rate and blood pressure associated with smoking immediately drops, and after 12 hours, the carbon monoxide level in the bloodstream returns to normal.

Within two to 12 weeks, circulation improves and lung function increases, and after one to nine months, coughing and shortness of breath decrease.

It’s not just personal health that is affected, but the economic growth and stability of South Africa as local smokers cost the government money.

This is backed up by research conducted by Dr Hana Ross and colleagues at UCT, that suggests South African smokers cost the government in excess of R42-billion.

This is largely attributed to increased healthcare costs, productive lives lost, and productive days lost through illness. On a consumer level, many South Africans face a massive challenge with debt.

The Debt Counselling Association estimates that in 2020, as many as 10 million South Africans had bad debt, with an average of 63% spending their after-tax income on repayments – a number which has certainly increased of late, with banks reporting a surge in provisions for bad debt. Taking into account that the average pack of cigarettes costs around R40, if one indulges in a pack of 20 cigarettes per day, the habit amounts to over R1 200 per month and over R14 400 per year. One could argue that given the current economic standpoint of many South Africans as a result of Covid-19, this additional expenditure could be put to better use, such as for food, housing or to invest in education and improve household financial situations.

While quitting smoking can be difficult, with the right mindset, a commitment to quit, and the right medical intervention, it can be done.

However, oftentimes people benefit from different types of support while withdrawing from nicotine, such as counselling and medication.

While there are different ways to quit smoking such as stopping abruptly, there are cessation methods that have helped many people kick the habit.

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