Smoking can ruin your health

Anti-Tobacco Campaign Month - May 2011

Dumisani Ndlovu* is a 44-year-old administrator with the Department of Correctional Services in Durban who decided to visit his doctor after developing a chest infection that wouldn't clear up. After listening to his chest with his stethoscope, his doctor asked him if he smoked. Dumisani said that he was a fairly heavy smoker and asked how the doctor knew. "Because I can hear it," came the reply.

Dumisani's doctor told him that as a smoker he was probably more likely to develop more chest and other infections than someone who did not. However there were other health problems that are associated with smoking that are perhaps of even greater concern. Smoking can, for instance, greatly increase an individual's chances of developing heart disease as well as a whole range of cancers.

Anti-smoking laws
South Africa has among the most stringent anti-smoking laws in the world. Despite this and the fact that smoking has been proved to be unhealthy in a number of ways, more than 20% of South Africans over the age of 15 still light up.

So why is it that so many of us still do it and why do we find it so difficult to give up? Many people, and especially youngsters, take up smoking because their friends do it and they want to fit in. They think that smoking suits them, looks good and won't really harm them. The problem is that tobacco contains nicotine, a highly addictive drug that you start to crave when you are without it. Our bodies and brains soon start to need nicotine in order to feel good and we soon become addicted to smoking.

Unhealthy
Being addicted to tobacco would not be such a problem if smoking were not so unhealthy. As noted previously, smoking can cause a very wide range of health problems. If people smoke, they are very likely to die 15 to 20 years before they should have. Around 25 000 South Africans are estimated to die of smoking related illness annually.

A cigarette contains as many as 4000 separate chemicals, many of which are considered highly toxic. Benzene, for example, is a toxic industrial solvent that is thought to cause leukaemia in some smokers. Cigarette smoke also contains other toxins that can be found in rat poison, varnish and nail polish remover. 

Nicotine causes blood vessels to constrict, increasing blood pressure in many people and resulting in the heart having to work harder. This can place them at an increased risk of developing heart disease, high blood pressure and a possible stroke. Smokers are twice as likely to die from a heart attack compared to non-smokers.

Cancer causing
The smoke you inhale from a cigarette contains no fewer than 43 carcinogenic, or cancer causing substances, and has been shown to cause a range of cancers. Some 90% of lung cancers and 30% of all cancer fatalities are thought by some experts to be caused by smoking. Besides lung cancer, smoking has been associated with throat, mouth, kidney, stomach and prostate cancers, to name just a few.

The following health conditions have also been associated with smoking:

• Colon cancer is much more common among smokers.
• Breast cancer - although smoking is not usually associated with breast cancer, women who have smoked heavily for years may have a greater risk of developing the disease.
• Skin cancer - your risk of developing skin cancer increases.
• Diabetes risk - tobacco may raise the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
• Low sperm count - if you smoke while you are pregnant you could reduce the fertility of baby boys.
• Double colic risk - pregnant women who smoke have double the chance of having a colic baby.

One's smoke can harm other people too. Second hand smoke has been shown to increase the risk of illnesses such asthma in children and cancer.

Kicking it
So how do you kick this dangerous habit? Some people find it easier than others and there are a number of ways that it can be done. Different approaches work for different people. Those who have a lot of willpower and strong desire to give up can stop smoking without any extra help or first cutting down. Another approach is to cut down smoking slowly over time. This involves gradually smoking fewer cigarettes each day until one is entirely free of the habit.

There are certain medications available from your doctor that reduce one's need to smoke and are highly effective in helping one to give up. Nicotine substitutes in the form of gum, patches or sprays can also be very helpful. Nicotine substitutes contain nicotine and are used to reduce the craving for nicotine and take away much of the desire to smoke. Dumisani used nicotine gum to help him reduce his cravings and he found them very useful in helping him to finally give up smoking a year ago.

Not so difficult
Dumisani points out that it was a lot easier to give up smoking than he expected. The cravings were not so bad, particularly after a few days had passed without him having smoked. And now a year later he says that he is enjoying the health benefits of not smoking, including having "more energy and lust for life". Dumisani notes that he will never go back to smoking now that he sees just what a negative impact it was having on his life. He advises everyone to give up, suggesting, "If I as a heavy smoker can do it, then anyone can".

For information from GEMS on smoking, please click here

If you would like to know how GEMS can assist you to obtain more information about any of your healthcare needs, you can contact the GEMS call centre on 0860 00 4367 or send a SMS to 083 450 4367. GEMS will assist you in every way possible to ensure your family's health and well-being.

*The member's name has been changed in order to protect his identity.

Sources:
1. ‘The Dangers of Smoking and Quit Smoking Methods', www.quittersguide.com.
2. ‘The Dangers of Tobacco', www.tobacco-facts.info/dangers_of_tobacco.htm.
3. ‘Smoking', Government Employees Medical Scheme (GEMS), pamphlet available at
 https://www.gems.gov.za/default.aspx?dCmybjzDVIEejQiUkLZqw+O6w9/wODuv