| Tobacco: Harm Reduction Advice |
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Drug Information - Tobacco As it is so commonplace, tobacco is often not thought to be a drug and certainly is considered quite different from illegal ones. However, by any definition (psychoactive, causes dependence) it is a drug and it causes more illness and death than any other intoxicant. Although usually smoked, it can also be chewed. It is highly addictive – nicotine, the key active component, is comparable to heroin in terms of potential for addiction. Smoking tobacco causes a range of serious and fatal illness. The resulting cost of the healthcare to society in UK is very substantial (£2.7bn) and the revenue raised by taxing tobacco is even higher (about £10bn). Worldwide there are over one billion smokers. Although for a long time there was a strong suspicion that smoking was very harmful to one’s health, there was a lack of medical proof and resistance from the tobacco companies to accept it even after it was proven. Once a link to lung cancer was established in the 1950s, rates of smoking in the UK began to fall considerably. Whereas 55 percent of adults smoked in 1970, about 22 percent smoke today (about 10 million people). This was due to the success of various advertising campaigns and greater health awareness. Cigarettes are less harmful than they were many years ago. Many brands then did not have filters and the content of tar and nicotine was much higher. However, even these milder varieties can cause serious damage to an individual’s health and lead to dependence. Most smokers start when they are 18 or younger. Generally speaking smoking is more popular in younger age groups for men (25-34) and for women (20-24). It is very easy for cigarettes to become part of a daily routine for a smoker (with a morning coffee and in the evening with alcohol) which strengthens dependence and makes quitting harder.
Smokers often consume more cigarettes when drinking alcohol at the pub or at a party. Due to its addictive nature, many find it very hard to stop being dependent on tobacco. Even after stopping for some years, one cigarette can trigger a relapse and they may return to their previous levels of nicotine intake. If you only smoke tobacco with cannabis you may find yourself getting dependent on the tobacco.
Smoking can also cause lung inflammation and infections with a heavy throaty cough. Heavy smokers can find it hard to fight off straightforward infections like colds and flu especially if they continue to smoke throughout their illness. If you smoke first thing in the morning and for you that is the most satisfying smoke of the day then you are addicted to nicotine as that is a sign that you are relieving the feelings of withdrawal. There is a good chance your health is being directly affected. Should you continue to smoke at that rate you are likely to suffer health problems from your smoking. Asthmatics and those with other respiratory problems are putting their health at even higher risk even if they only smoke occasionally. In the UK, about 120,000 people suffer premature death through smoking every year. The World Health Organisation estimate that about 5.5 million people in the world die each year of smoking attributable illness, which is about 10% of all deaths globally. Aside from illnesses, smoking causes around 100 deaths per year in the UK through house fires, which often result from smoking whilst drunk. Such fires often kill families as well as the smoker. It is hoped that these fatalities will be reduced by the introduction of cigarettes designed to go out quicker when dropped or left burning, although it is impossible to know in advance what the impact of these cigarettes may be. Top brand cigarettes in UK cost about £7 for twenty. So anyone smoking a pack a day is spending about £2,500 a year on their addiction. Each pack only costs about 15p to manufacture; the vast majority of the cost is tax. It is cheaper to buy rolling tobacco and make your own but it should be noted that if these are smoked without a filter then they are more physically harmful. Non-smokers can still have their health affected by breathing in other’s tobacco smoke (passive smoking) but this is likely to have decreased since the ban on public smoking came into force in 2007. Although it is more harmful to smoke in front of children in confined spaces such as private houses and cars, as many as two million children are still regularly exposed to cigarette smoke. Mothers who smoke when they are pregnant risk the health of their unborn child. Smoking reduces the amount of oxygen in the blood getting to the foetus. Babies born to smokers are smaller and there is a greater likelihood of premature birth. Smoking can damage relationships if only one partner smokes. The non-smoker may eventually find the smell of stale smoke, the cigarette ends and bad breath too much over time, so smoking can weaken relationships.
Cutting down, though a positive move, is not really a practical solution for most smokers: abstinence is the best option. Nicotine patches and gums are useful aides but plenty of willpower is still required. There are medications such as Zyban and Champix which have been invented for those who have relapsed several times - others find hypnosis effective although there is additional cost involved. Smoking harms your general level of fitness so getting fitter, through sport or at the gym, can help to counteract some of the harms of smoking.
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