Smoking has been known to mankind for many years. It is believed that inhaling the smoke of certain plants was originally an attribute of ritual actions that help to achieve a special state of mind. In 1496, Columbus’ ships brought dried herb leaves to Europe for smoking from the province of Tabago. This is where the word tobacco comes from. Smoking quickly became common. Earlier, tobacco was even credited with healing properties and was used to treat various diseases.

Today, it is obvious that smoking is a tradition acquired by mankind, an evil for health, a profitable business and an actual topic for various political and state interests. According to the World Health Organization, a person dies every 6.5 seconds from a smoking-related illness worldwide. People who started smoking at a young age and who have been smoking continuously for more than 20 years live on average 20 – 25 years less than nonsmokers.

Modern smokers belong to different social strata of society. Men, women, old people, pregnant women and children smoke. They smoke in developed countries and developing countries. Rich and poor do so. Both those who know about the dangers of smoking and those who do not have this information smoke. Today one in four Americans smokes. In some countries, half of the total population smokes. Smokers are under constant ideological pressure, discriminatory and financial measures are applied to them, information pressure is constantly being conducted. They physically feel the undesirable effects of smoking such as sore throat, voice changes, eye irritation, coughing, taste changes, inability to distinguish between odors, expectoration, bad mouth, fatigue, headaches. They get sick and die from the effects of smoking, but they continue to smoke.

What makes people smoke? Initially, the reasons are usually psychological. There are centuries-old traditions and modern stereotypes associated with smoking. At a young age – this is the desire to look older and more independent, and sometimes as a certain form of protest behavior, an alternative to the generally accepted point of view, the ability to stand out and enter a certain circle, the generally accepted demeanor for a certain group of people, the desire not to differ from their peers. Advertising, imitation of images from the world of cinema, art and science plays a huge role. It is believed that smoking helps to reduce weight and calm the nerves. The family smoking tradition is of great importance. Social smoking is a separate issue – smoking provoked by certain situations, being in pubs, bars, nightclubs, alcohol.

What does a person who smokes a cigarette feel? Smoking is a focus, stress reliever, and response to difficult situations. Nicotine has a stimulating and at the same time calming effect on the psyche, which occurs within 7 seconds after the smoke enters the lungs. Smoking gently and temporarily stops feelings of anxiety and depression. In people prone to panic and stress, it calms and stabilizes breathing. In people prone to anxiety and depression, it distracts and stimulates thoughts. The need to take a pause for a smoke break allows a person to temporarily leave a stressful situation, time for concentration and respite. Smoking becomes a form of reward for the activity performed, a means of helping to simply spend time, making it easier to connect with previously unfamiliar people or to feel part of a certain group. Smoking becomes a pleasant ritual, a sign of self-determination, just a habit.

Gradually, the psychological dependence on the cigarette is complemented by the physical one. Nicotine is a biologically active substance that penetrates the lungs and is absorbed in the human body, causing pharmacological effects. Nicotine activates nerve receptors that normally respond to another natural substance secreted by our brain (acetylcholine). The resulting imbalance leads to serious functional changes, addiction and dependence on smoking. When the brain does not receive its doping, a person feels sick (withdrawal syndrome). It usually takes time for the neurotransmitter (acetylcholine) to return to normal function.

It’s time to pay the bills. Cigarette smoke contains at least 400 substances that are considered toxic. They are divided according to their effects on carcinogenic (contributing to the development of cancer), addictive (causing addiction and dependence), metabolic (disrupting metabolism, such as cholesterol), atherogenic and thrombogenic (causing narrowing, thrombus formation and vascular occlusion), hypoxic (reducing oxygen content in the blood), irritating (leading to damage to the mucous membranes of the respiratory tract). 

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in smokers. Acute thrombosis of the heart vessels, causing myocardial infarction, thrombotic occlusion of cerebral vessels, leading to strokes and paralysis, vascular damage to the renal arteries and renal failure, vascular occlusion of the great vessels of the legs, leading to gangrene and amputation, impotence associated with occlusion of the corresponding vascular system – all this is directly related to smoking.

The link between smoking and cancer is unambiguous. Lung cancer is usually a disease of smokers. Cancer of the bladder, esophagus, kidney, cervix, occur in smokers significantly more often. More than 90% of smokers suffer from some form of chronic inflammatory process in the lungs. Smoking worsens asthma and promotes the development of arterial hypertension.

Women who smoke are significantly more likely to have problems with infertility. Smokers are more likely to suffer from diseases of the eyes, gums, teeth, ears and mouth ulcers. Their hearing is more often impaired. Smokers tend to have dry skin with many wrinkles, especially around the lips and eyes, as a result of impaired blood supply and vitamin A deficiency, pronounced deposits and yellow color are characteristic of the teeth.

There is also a separate issue of passive smoking. Thus, children growing up in homes where both parents smoke have a double risk of developing asthma and allergies, are more prone to severe respiratory infections, and have an increased risk of sudden death. In adults, secondhand smoke increases the risk of developing lung cancer. Smoking during pregnancy damages the fetus and is associated with lower birth weight, stunted development and illness in the newborn.

At some point, almost every smoker asks himself the question: “Why do I smoke?”, And does not find a reasonable answer. They smoke, because smoking has become a habit, a conditioned reflex according to Pavlov, a means associated with certain situations, thoughtless action, but not the free choice of a reasonable person. The negative aspects of smoking are starting to come to the fore. It is a fact that most smokers sooner or later think about how to quit smoking.

Psychological and physical attachment forces one to seek logical defenses for the addiction. You can hear the following arguments: everyone has their own destiny or their own genetics, my friend smoked until he was 120 years old and was healthy, everyone smokes, the body gets used to tobacco and its cancellation can lead to unnecessary stress and irreversible consequences, smoking cessation in most people is associated with recovery weight, etc. Medical evidence is cited that smoking reduces the risk of Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease, reduces the risk of breast and thyroid cancer, favorably in patients with Ulcerative colitis.

How often do we remember the immutable truth that health is the greatest human value? Often this happens when you begin to feel acutely its lack … Cardiovascular accidents, cancer, related disabilities and prognosis change a person’s life in one day. An immediate reassessment of life values ​​in relation to health and the value of smoking occurs. The same person will read this article differently, before and after a medical diagnosis.

When being healthy – one is quick, superficial, without regard to oneself, perhaps skeptical and incomplete and just the opposite when one is being sick.

Any sane person who has survived a cardiovascular accident understands its direct connection with smoking, and it is not difficult to convince him to quit smoking. In addition, some former smokers develop a feeling of tobacco intolerance and no longer touch the cigarette. A small proportion of patients will stop smoking simply because they cannot smoke physically, because tobacco smoke lowers the oxygen content in the blood, which is already reduced in patients with heart and lung failure. The rest will stop smoking with death, thereby rewarding it for the job well done.

Quitting smoking is a very difficult task. Only one in three smokers under 60 will be successful in quitting smoking. There is no panacea for everyone, one method that guarantees success. In each case, it all starts with assessing the individual causes and individual risks associated with the habit and making a decision. To quit smoking, it is necessary to overcome psychological addiction to tobacco and physical dependence on nicotine. Some people manage to quit smoking in one day, timed to coincide with some event in their life. Some people quit smoking gradually. You can use nicotine products, stickers, gum, pills, or nasal spray that reduce tobacco cravings. Zyban (bupropion) reduces tobacco cravings and eases smoking cessation symptoms. The duration of treatment should be at least 2-3 months, at which time the use of tobacco is unacceptable. According to the literature, Zyban doubles the chance to quit smoking after 3 months of treatment. Alternative treatments like acupuncture and hypnosis can also be effective.

Using all of these remedies is only part of the difficult quitting process. Success is based on understanding, willpower, motivation and support. Understanding that smoking is a fatal disease that affects life expectancy and quality. Understanding that smoking is a selfish habit, a means of poisoning and an example to follow for the closest and dearest environment. Understanding that smoking is a financial burden, an associative illusion and a conditioned reflex.

There should be no illusion that the risk of developing cardiovascular, cancer and pulmonary diseases will decrease immediately after smoking cessation. It will take years. And some of the irreversible changes in the body caused by smoking will remain forever.