The unpredictable harm of smoking

(Baonghean) -Smoking is the cause of 25 diseases, including many dangerous diseases such as: lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, myocardial infarction, atherosclerosis and other diseases (nasopharyngeal cancer, skin cancer, osteoporosis, laryngeal cancer, bronchial cancer, cataracts, stomach ulcers, impotence, reduced fertility...)

Cigarette smoke contains more than 7,000 chemicals, including nicotine, which is addictive, and about 70 substances that cause cancer, typically substances such as tar, benzene, carbon monoxide... Smokers have a risk of death 2.5 to 10 times higher than non-smokers.

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Passive smoking also has a major impact on health because the smoke emitted from the burning end of a cigarette is more toxic than the smoke exhaled by the smoker. People who regularly inhale cigarette smoke have a 26% higher risk of lung cancer than those who do not inhale cigarette smoke. Passive smoking is one of the factors that cause many cardiovascular and lung diseases, reduces respiratory function and affects reproductive function in both men and women. Passive smoking increases the risk of heart disease by 25-30%, lung disease by 25% and increases the risk of stroke by 82%.

In Vietnam, among the four leading causes of death, tobacco ranks second after HIV, followed by alcohol and traffic accidents. For men, tobacco is the leading cause of premature death, accounting for nearly 11% of all deaths. The World Health Organization estimates that each year in Vietnam, about 40,000 people die from tobacco-related diseases, and if no timely measures are taken, by 2030, this number will increase to 70,000 people (nearly four times the number of deaths from road traffic accidents in our country each year).

Tobacco causes a loss of 500 billion dollars each year to the world economy. It is estimated that medical costs for treating tobacco-related diseases, reduced labor productivity and other social costs account for 3.6% of GDP. The social costs of tobacco use in countries are very high. The burden of medical costs for treating tobacco-related diseases is a challenge for many countries. According to data from developed countries, the cost of treating tobacco-related diseases accounts for about 6-15% of total medical costs... In Vietnam, in 2010, the cost of treating just 3 of the 25 most common tobacco-related diseases (lung cancer, coronary artery disease, obstructive pulmonary disease) was 2,304 billion VND.

Spending on cigarettes reduces other essential household expenses, especially for low-income households. A smoker spends 1/3 of the amount spent on food in a year, 1.5 times more than the amount spent on education, and 5 times more than the average medical cost per capita. Thus, smoking is one of the causes of increasing poverty... In addition, cigarettes also cause other harmful effects on environmental sanitation, increase smuggling activities, and cause the risk of fire and explosion.

Thanh Son

(Synthetic)