Cigarette smoking harms both smokers and non-smokers?

Two days ago was World No Tobacco Day (may 31), so I decided to do this piece on cigarette smoking.

Do you know that cigarette smoking harms both the smoker and the non-smoker who inhales the smoke as second-hand smoke?

Second-hand smoke (Passive smoking) is a mixture of the smoke from the burning end of a cigarette and the smoke exhaled from the lungs of the smoker. Most times, it is involuntarily inhaled, and it lingers in the environment for hours after the cigarette has been put off, and can result to a number of adverse health effects.

What does Cigarette contain? Cigarette contains over 500 ingredients. The most popular three are nicotine, tar and carbon monoxide. The smoke from cigarette contains over 4,000 chemical substances (some literature says about over 7,000). Most of these substances are developed in the process of burning the cigarette involving reaction of the ingredients with each other. About 50 of these substances are carcinogenic (can cause various types of cancer).

Nicotine is the "highly addictive" ingredient with both stimulating and depressing potencies. It is responsible for the addiction to smoking of cigarettes. Tar is a mixture of substances that together form a sticky mass in the lungs. Carbon monoxide makes it difficult for red blood cells to transport oxygen throughout the body.

Most of the chemicals inhaled through cigarette smoking stays in the lungs. The more one inhales, the better it feels—and the greater the damage to the lungs. Not only the lungs are affected, the heart, the liver and generally almost every organ of the body is affected. Although filters are added to cigarettes, they are not effective in filtering all the dangerous substances from being inhaled. 

For a non-smoker, passive smoking can cause many of the diseases that active smoking by a smoker would cause. These include: cancer (lung, breast, bladder, cervical, ), lung disorders, infections and respiratory disorders, heart disorders, congenital malformations during pregnancy, poor mental health, etc.

One significant way we (both smokers and non-smokers) can get harmed by cigarette smoking is through the manner of disposal of the cigarette filters after use. When cigarette butts are disposed inappropriately, they contribute to environmental waste issues and find their way into waterways and water supplies. The toxic substances on the filters then mixes up with the water supplies and we then have contaminated waters. This can affect the food supply of aquatic animals and we need them for food. Also, the toxic substances can be harmful to plants and wild animals which may consume them as food.

With this, we should promote positive health by discouraging cigarette smoking, avoid second-hand smoking and encourage proper disposal of cigarette butts after use. It's our collective responsibility to promote good health. 

You can quit cigarette smoking. If it's a challenge for you, consult a health worker and ensure you relate your challenges and get the solution you need.

Ensure you share this message,

Stay healthy, Stay positive!!