Breaking tobacco addiction is within reach

Give it up for the sake of your family, your health and your pocket

Smoking tobacco is both physically and psychologically addictive, but this unhealthy habit can be successfully broken. If you are a smoker, why not try to give up for the month of May? Most likely, you will choose not to go back to smoking once you feel the positive health effects.

Tobacco smoking is not only harmful to the smoker's health, it can also damage the health of those around them who breathe in ‘second-hand' smoke. There is substantial medical evidence linking smoking to a range of dangerous health conditions including certain cancers, especially cancers of the lungs, mouth and throat, heart and lung diseases as well as increased risk of stroke.

The addictive qualities of tobacco can make quitting smoking seem like an almost impossible challenge to the smoker. Perhaps the most difficult aspect of quitting smoking, however, is taking the decision to quit. National Anti Smoking Campaign Month presents the ideal opportunity to turn your back on cigarettes and say hello to a healthier future.

On an individual level, smoking is expensive and increases the smoker's risk of developing a range of dangerous or unpleasant health conditions. The World Health Organization (WHO) has suggested that the smoking epidemic is one of the greatest threats to public health ever, with about 10% of deaths worldwide each year being related to smoking1.

A study published earlier this year, Global economic cost of smoking-attributable diseases, estimated that internationally healthcare costs arising from such diseases amounted to US$422 billion (approx. R5 613 billion*), while the total cost including lost productivity due to smoking-related illness was approximately US$1436 billion (approx. R19 102 billion*) in 20122. According to the study, developing countries are facing a considerable economic burden due to tobacco use, as these countries account for nearly 40% of this figure.

The good news is that it is never too late to quit, as over time some of the damage caused by smoking can be reversed. Talk to your family and friends about stopping smoking, as their support can be invaluable, particularly in the first two weeks after giving up when the cravings are most intense. It is also important to educate young people about the dangers of smoking to discourage them from picking up the habit.

Tips for giving up smoking:

• Discuss the dangers of tobacco and strategies for quitting with your family practitioner.
• Sipping cold water through a straw, or hot herbal teas can help to ease cigarette cravings.
• Chewing gum, whistling and going for walks can help to offset cravings in moments of boredom.
• Remember that cigarette cravings may be intense but they are generally short-lived, usually lasting a minute or less.
• Take one day at a time, and the cigarette cravings will soon diminish to the point where you wonder why you ever smoked in the first place.
• Do not relapse! There is no such thing as having ‘just one' cigarette.
• Establish a support base by discussing your wish to give up smoking with friends, family and colleagues.

References:

• Goodchild, M; Nargis, N; and Tursan d'Espaignet, E (2017) Global economic cost of smoking-attributable diseases. BMJ Publishing Group Limited. Available at: http://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/early/2017/02/02/tobaccocontrol-2016-053305
• World Health Organization (WHO) Fact Sheet on Tobacco Available at: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs339/en/