TOBACCO: Leading cause of death

Tobacco is now the world’s leading single cause of death. Six million deaths per year, will increase to more than  Eight million per year by 2030. One billion deaths during the 21st Century. Exposure to second hand smoke at workplace, Jammu & Kashmir has highest prevalence (1St Rank) in India, turning into capital of lung cancer.

Tobacco use is the single largest cause of preventable deaths in the world today. Globally approximately Six million people die each year due to diseases resulting from tobacco consumption and more than 80% of these deaths occur in developing countries. As per Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) India, 2010, more than two thirds of the adults in India used tobacco in some form. As per Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS) 2009, 14.6% of 13-15 years schools going children were using tobacco and exposure to second hand smoke at workplace Jammu & Kashmir has highest prevalence (1St Rank) in India.

6 million deaths per year, will increase to more than 8 million per year by 2030.

What Parents Should Know

Parents—Help Keep Your Kids Tobacco-Free

• Kids who use tobacco may
  • Cough and have asthma attacks more often and develop respiratory problems, leading to more sick days, more doctor bills, and poorer athletic performance.
  • Be more likely to use alcohol and other drugs such as cocaine and marijuana.
  • Become addicted to tobacco and find it extremely hard to quit.
  • Spit tobacco and cigars are not safe alternatives to cigarettes; low-tar and additive-free cigarettes are not safe either.
  • Tobacco use is the single most preventable cause of death in the United States, causing heart disease, cancers, and strokes.

Take a Stand at Home—Early and Often

• Despite the impact of movies, music, and TV, parents can be the GREATEST INFLUENCE in their kids’ lives.
• Talk directly to children about the risks of tobacco use; if friends or relatives died from tobacco-related illnesses, let your kids know.
• If you use tobacco, you can still make a difference. Your best move, of course, is to try to quit. Meanwhile, don’t use tobacco in your children’s presence, don’t offer it to them, and don’t leave it where they can easily get it.
• Start the dialog about tobacco use at age 5 or 6 and continue through their high school years. Many kids start using tobacco by age 11, and many are addicted by age 14.
• Know if your kids’ friends use tobacco. Talk about ways to refuse tobacco.
• Discuss with kids the false glamorization of tobacco on billboards and in other media, such as movies, TV, and magazines.

Make a Difference in Your Community

• Vote with your pocketbook. Support businesses that don’t sell tobacco to kids. Frequent restaurants and other places that are tobacco-free.
• Be sure your schools and all school events (i.e., parties, sporting events, etc.) are tobacco-free.
• Partner with your local tobacco prevention programs. Call your local health department or your cancer, heart, or lung association to learn how you can get involved.

The Healthy People 2020 Tobacco Use objectives are organized into 3 key areas:

1. Tobacco Use Prevalence: Implementing policies to reduce tobacco use and initiation among youth and adults.
2. Health System Changes: Adopting policies and strategies to increase access, affordability, and use of smoking cessation services and treatments.
3. Social and Environmental Changes: Establishing policies to reduce exposure to secondhand smoke, increase the cost of tobacco, restrict tobacco advertising, and reduce illegal sales to minors.

Each objective includes a nationally representative and reliable data source, baseline estimate, and target for specific improvements to be achieved by the year 2020.

Take a Stand—Early and Often

• Recognize your influence with young people. Don’t use tobacco around players. Remind them of the importance of being tobacco-free.
• When talking to players, remember they relate more to messages about the immediate effects of tobacco use (such as poorer athletic performance) than to its long-term health threats.
• Adopt and enforce a tobacco-free policy for players, coaches, and referees.
• Send a copy of the tobacco-free policy home for parents to review.
• Make all practices, games, and competitions tobacco-free—on the field and sidelines and in the stands.
• Announce and display tobacco-free messages at games.
• Consider partnering with your local tobacco prevention programs. Voice your support for tobacco-free schools, sports, and other community events.

Government of India has taken many progressive steps to control the increasing tobacco use among the youth. The Cigarettes and other Tobacco products (prohibition of advertisement and regulation of trade and commerce, production, supply and distribution Act) COTPA 2003 is a comprehensive law aimed to address the menace of tobacco in the country. 

1. Nicotine is a drug that is as addictive as cocaine or heroin.  It occurs naturally in tobacco plants, although tobacco companies may add it to tobacco products.  Within seconds of inhaling smoke from a cigarette, the nicotine reaches your brain, stimulating the nervous system, increasing heart rate, raising blood pressure and constricting small   blood vessels under the skin.

2. Ammonia is a chemical used in cleaning products such   as glass   and toilet bowl cleaners. The tobacco industry claims that ammonia adds flavor, but scientists have   discovered that ammonia that helps the body absorb more nicotine thereby helping in the addiction process.

3. Propylene Glycol is a main ingredient in antifreeze. The tobacco industry claims they add it to keep tobacco from drying out. Scientists have found that it aids the delivery of nicotine to the brain.

4. Formaldehyde is added to tobacco to help prevent the   tobacco from drying   out quickly. This is one of the main ingredients in embalming fluid used to preserve dead    bodies.  It is as known carcinogen (cancer   causing substance) and can damage the lungs, skin and digestive system.

Prevalence of Tobacco Use in J&K and India 

Current tobacco user Nine states in India has lower prevalence then J&K has 8th highest  prevalence in India and Exposure to second hand smoke at workplace  has highest prevalence (1St Rank)  in India Exposure to SHS at home has 10th  highest in the country 

Government of Jammu and Kashmir implemented the tobacco control laws in the state with Drugs and Food Control Organization as a nodal department for the enforcement of the Act, with controller Drugs & Food Control org as member Secretary of the state level monitoring committee and Commissioner/Secretary, Health & Medical Education department as its chairman. Similarly district level monitoring committee with District Development Commissioner as its chairman and Chief Medical officer as member secretary.

The two important provisions of the Act, Section 4 and section 6 bans smoking in public and prohibits accessibility tobacco to minors. Section: 4. No person shall smoke in any public place. A public place means any place to which the

MPOWER

public has access whether as of right or not but does not include any open space. Smoking is however also prohibited at such open spaces visited by the public like open auditorium, stadiums, railways stations, bus stops, public parks and such other places. Even the retiring room of Judge is a public place. Any person found smoking in a public place is liable to pay a fine of upto Rs 200/=. The Offence is compoundable, which can be settled on spot by the enforcement officer. All the gazetted officers are authorized to compound the offences in their respective offices, whereas Food Safety Officers and police officer not below the rank of sub Inspector can compound the offences under Section 4 in their respective jurisdictions. Moreover the management of a public place has to ensure no persons smoke in the public place including hotels and restaurants, no ashtrays, lighters and matchsticks are provided. Also prominent display of 60 X 30cm board saying “No Smoking Area-Smoking Here is an offense”. If owner, manager, supervisor fails to act upon any complaint he shall be liable to pay a fine equivalent to number of individual offenses.

Section 6: Prohibition on sale of tobacco products to and by minors 

Section 6(a): No person shall sell tobacco products to a minor (below the age of 18 years), all vendors shall ensure that no tobacco product is handled or sold by a minor. The owner/in-charge of the place were cigarettes or tobacco products are sold has to display board containing the warning:

 “Sale of tobacco products to persons under the age of eighteen years is punishable offence: The violation is punishable with a fine up to Rs 200/=”

Section 6(b): No persons shall sell tobacco products within three hundred feet from the outer fence of educational institution. Educational institute “means places/centers where educational instructions are imparted and include schools, colleges and institution of higher learning.

The owner or the person in-charge of educational institution should display board at a prominent place, containing warning

Graphic shows the dangerous trend of smokeless tobacco use among high school athletes. Past 30-day use of combustible tobacco products dropped from 2001 to 2013 among all high school students (31.5% to 19.5%), while past 30-day use of smokeless tobacco remained unchanged among non-athletes (5.9%) and increased among athletes (10.0% to 11.1%).

Smokeless tobacco is NOT without risk. Smokeless tobacco use can lead to nicotine addiction; cause cancer of the mouth, esophagus and pancreas; cause diseases of the mouth; increase the risk for death from heart disease and stroke.

E-cigarette use has increased considerably among U.S. youths in recent years and corresponding increases have occurred in e-cigarette advertising expenditures.

This graphs shows that during 2011 to 2014, current e-cigarette use among high school students soared from 1.5% to 13.4%, and among middle school students from 0.6% to 3.9%. Spending on e-cigarette advertising rose from $6.4 million in 2011 to an estimated $115 million in 2014.

 “Sale of tobacco products in an area within a radius of 100 yards from the educational institution is strictly prohibited and the offence is punishable with a fine up to Rs 200/=”

Smoking is gateway to drug addiction. Moreover individuals who use tobacco from a young age are more likely to suffer from serious diseases earlier than others and die prematurely. Kashmir is witnessing increase in the number of cases of cancers in the past few years with lung cancer topping the list. According to official data available at Regional Cancer Centre, Sheri Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences Soura, Kashmir valley has the highest number of lung cancer cases as compared to rest of country. Finally lung health in cannot be improved without success in tobacco control. Tobacco is no doubt world’s  biggest killer and anti tobacco advocates to unite to fight common enemy tobacco. if we don’t take action in this regard about hundreds and hundreds  people alive today will eventually killed by tobacco in coming years, half of those, who are currently children’s  and teenagers. The WHO,s MPOWER policy package can reverse the tobacco epidemic and prevent millions  of tobacco related deaths. This package consist of 

1) Monitor tobacco use and prevention policies .

2) Protect people from tobacco smoke.

3) Offer help to quit tobacco use.

4) Warn about dangers of tobacco

5) Enforce ban on tobacco, advertising, promotion and sponsorship.

6) Raise taxes on tobacco.

Cigarette Smoking is Down, but Almost 38 million American Adults Still Smoke

Cigarette smoking remains high among certain groups

• Men
• Adults 25-64 years old
• lower education
• Below poverty level
• Midwest and South
• Uninsured or Medicaid
• Disabled
• Serious pychological distress
• American Indians, Alaska Natives, and multiracial
• Lesbians, gays, and bisexuals

Strategies essential to continue reducing cigarette smoking overall:

• Implement smoke-free laws
• Run mass media campaigns
• Raise tobacco prices
• Make quit help easy to access

find you plan to quit Tobacco and Alternative Option ...

Herbal Cigarette (Ayurvedic Cigarettes) which have No Contain Tobacco and Nicotine.

About Ayurveda Cigarette

Report and Data By CDC and Shabir Ahmed Lone is Food Safety Officer, Srinagar