Smoking is the major cause of lung diseases in entire world. Tobacco has its own worst effects. Short term effects include shrinkage of arteries. Because of which the heart gets less blood supply. Long term effects include lung diseases, cancer of the cervix, pancreas and kidneys.
Cigarette contains nicotine, and this nicotine makes people addicted to the cigarette. Today one in every four person of the world smokes cigarette. In USA about 45.3 million adults (20.8 per cent) smoke cigarette.
In India 250 million people (25 per cent) use tobacco, 60 per cent of them in smoking and 40 per cent non smoking format. In both the countries cigarette smoking is more common in poor and middle income people. Smoking cigarette is responsible for one in every five deaths of America.
Cigarette is causing more deaths than AIDS, car accident, suicide and illegal drug consumption in both the countries. The data of India are depressing. Every year 900,000 people die due to cigarette smoking and related causes.
Smoking is expected to be 20 per cent deaths of all men and 5 per cent death of all women of India of age 30 to 69. Against 50 per cent of USA, 65 per cent of all Indian smokers will die due to cigarette smoking and related causes.
Person who smokes bidi shortens their life by 6 years; while the with full size cigarette, person shortens his life by 10 years.0
Recently, Indian government has tried to put strict restriction on the sale of tobacco and cigarettes to the people under the age of 15, but unfortunately, it is hardly followed.
From the result of the health research at the University Of Toronto, Canada, it has come out that India is going to lose millions of people in next 24 months just because of the usage of tobacco.
Union Health Minister of India, A Ramadoss, said that India has around 600 million people under the age of 30. That makes India the world's largest "youth" country and young people should be saved from the usage of tobacco and cigarette.
Since media affects the youth the most, Indian government has put ban on cigarette usage in movies, TV serials and commercials. Political and other warnings may affect the educated people, but since the illiterate people cannot read statuary warnings, India's major tobacco consumption is done by poor and illiterate people.
Usage of tobacco makes social and economical problems too. Expenses behind tobacco and cigarette compromise families' food and health. Worldwide, tobacco kills over 11,000 people a day.
Around 5.4 million people die prematurely due to tobacco related illness. Today more than half of the world's smokers live in 15 such countries like India, Bangladesh, Russia, China and Indonesia.
After years of campaigning, the usage of tobacco has been reduced in developed countries, but in developing countries, the situation has become worse and more and more people die every year because of that.
According to WHO report, in next 22 years, every year 8.5 million people (against 5.5 million people now) will die due to usage of tobacco.
Many people want to quit smoking, but the nicotine makes them addicted to use it again and again. This condition should be taken as a disease and should be cured both physically and psychologically.
According to a study report ("Association Between Tobacco Marketing and Use Among Urban Youth In India", published in the May/June issue of the American Journal of Health Behavior), released by researchers at The University of Texas, School of Public Health, there is big effect of commercials on Indian youth.
They also found that more number of students of class six used tobacco than class eight, because class six students were more exposed to tobacco commercials.
According to WHO survey, 17 per cent of students under 15 are using one or other type of tobacco and most of them are using cigarette in India. According to another research done by Indian Administrative Services, Jaipur, almost 195 million people (154 million men and 41 million women) in India either smoked or chewed tobacco.
They also found that the usage of tobacco is higher in poor, illiterate and backward class people. People of India are using different kinds of tobaccos, around 14 kinds of them are non smoking and 12 kinds of them are smoking.
There are thousands of unofficial bidi factories running in India. According to Indian health minister, 15 per cent of tobacco is consumed by cigarette; where as 53 per cent of tobacco is consumed by bidi.
The remaining amount is consumed in the form of gutkhas and masalas. In 2002 report presentation GK Rath presented that in year 1999, India had spend 6.5 billion US $ for the treatment of cigarette related causes. Due to cigarette related causes, by year 2010 India will lose 24 million man years. In other word further loss of 24 billion US$; which is more than 2 times of India's one year's total capital budget.
In India tobacco is still seen as productive and revenue making business. In developed countries taxation on tobacco is as high as 50-60 per cent where as in India it is still 10%. WHO has suggested that if India hikes 10 per cent in taxation on tobacco, it will decrease the number of cigarette smokers by 8 per cent.
It is estimated that there is 30 Billion $ worth of tobacco business going on in the world. Out of that 10 billion $ is of illegal smuggling business, which occurs mostly due to escape from heave duties
Prevention
Government and other NGO (Non Government Organizations) are very active for the prevention of smoking from the society in both the countries. Numbers of private and government institutes are working to turn maximum number of people from smoking to nonsmoking.
Georgia department of health science is working for the prevention of smoking in young people and trying to give medical and psychological counseling to the people to quiet the smoking.
Director of Tobacco Institute of India, Udayan Lal says that due to increase tax of cigarette, people have shifted to consumption of low budgeted bidi, as it is cheaper than cigarette. The consumption of tobacco has been increased.
Indian government is also trying to reduce the consumption of tobacco, but due to wide spread of network, thousands of illegal road side counters and millions of illiterate people make challenges harder for Indian government. India has banned all kinds of commercials of cigarette and made strict warnings for prohibition of tobacco selling and consumption to children below 18 years of age.
There is some good news also. Since there is a ban on public smoking in India, the passive smoking has been reduced up to 49 per cent. Moreover children lighting their first cigarette has been reduced by 45 per cent in last 3 years.
On July 13 2008, union health minister has declared in press conference that by 2nd October 2008, nobody can smoke inside private or commercial buildings, including malls and theaters. Lets see what happens to this law!
Electronic cigarette is a good option for all the smokers around the world. It is a battery operated black pipe, which is smoke free and it contains nicotine cartilage, which is not as harmful as regular cigarettes.
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