NO TOBACCO DAY
On 31st May every year anti-smoking day is observed. Smoking is harmful for health. Smoking kills excruciatingly and its ill effects are many. It causes slow and painful death due to nicotine, a poisonous substance in tobacco. It is poisonous, pernicious and asphyxiated even if you are a passive smoker. It causes cancer, pulmonary and respiratory diseases choke-up, chronic bronchitis and obstructive, emphysemas, asthma, fatal heart attacks, numbness and foul smell in breathing. It will not perk you up. You will get physical pleasure and perfidious charm for some time; you will wakeup, get moving, keep going when you feel worn-out but no comfort intrinsically. It is not pleasant, enjoyable and pleasurable but alters better into bitter.
Un-noticed nicotine present in tobacco is a stimulant for short time but a killer and panic for long. No doubt, it will help you relax when you are in tense, upset and stressful situation but on the other hand it is a nauseating solicitude. Cigarette or Cigar will burn out within minutes but you will burn out through out your entire life without smoke. Smoking adds to the chances of your falling sick, trembling of the hands. It is like adding a bottle of whiskey to fast driving. It is no necessity.
When you associate smoking with the good times, it can strengthen your smoking habit. But it can be easier to quit when you focus on enjoying your self without tobacco. Getting over this tobacco obstacle can make it easier to quite smoking and stay smoke free. Enjoy the pleasures being tobacco free. Spend say the money you spend on cigarettes on another kind of pleasure: a shopping spree, a nigh out, a party to celebrate your success.
Think for a while before you will get a cigarette from the pocket to light it up. Try to think of something else to do instead of smoking. Remind your self of the health benefits of quitting. Giving up cigarettes can help you enjoy life’s other pleasures for many years to come. When you feel a dire need to smoke a cigrate or bidi etc. take an edible or drink some water. This way you can refrain from being addicted.
So far as the smoking in India is concerned, tobacco kills more than 2500 Indians every day. India is the world’s third largest producer and consumer of tobacco, which is among the leading causes of death in the country. A WHO study estimate that in production of tobacco related deaths in India is set to rise from 1.4% in 1990 to 13.3% in 2020. In India tobacco kills people on fast pace with maximum deaths occurring between the age of 45 to 55 years. In 1990s, a total of three million people died each year from tobacco-induced diseases. And about two million of them from the industrialized counties and about one million in developing countries. Tobacco smoking in most parts of India except Punjab, Maharashtra and Sikkim reported in about 1/4th to half of adult men of over 15 years of age. Amongst women, smoking was more common in the Northeastern states, J&K and Bihar, had prevalence rates of about 4% or less.
In Kashmir hookah smoking is common and hereditary. People in villages particularly from age bar 40-50 use hookah (hubble-bubble) smoking after day eat food or take tea. They believe it as a dose to digest their food. They enjoy hookah smoke also during construing conversations, discussions, decisions and bargains etc. It is seen that in villages the percentage of mail hookah smokers is three times more than female hookah smokers. Hookah smoking is almost negligent in cities.
In our Srinagar city hookah is a miracle. But in villages it is yet a house hold part. An essential ingredient if we are in the shop or in the field. Yeomen in villages yet carry Jageer (hookah) with them towards their fields. And if they forgot it to carry with them, they would order tensely in common parlance, “Jageer Suze Phuto-Phut Yure” (send hookah here instantly).
It is also acknowledged that during tense situations, and consultations etc. Gub Tumboke (heavy tobacco) was preferred than “Luth Tumboke” (light tobacco). However hookah smoking in villages has diminished for the past two three years from 50-20 men with zero case in women. Because the hookah smoking has got converted into cigarette smoking.
Children imitate their smoking parents. Children as young as two years old may be influenced by their parents’ tobacco habits. They feel happy in throwing out smoke puffs from their mouths. Young children’s attitudes to smoking and alcohol have been difficult to assess due to their limited language skills, so information on social influences has focused on teenagers-the group most likely to take up smoking or drinking.
Researchers from Dartmouth Medical College in New Hampshire, US, used dolls in a role playing game with children from 2 to 6 years of age. The child was told to take the doll shopping as there was no food in the dollhouse. When the doll entered the doll grocery store, which had 73 products on display, the researchers noted which products where purchased. Children where nearly 4 times as likely to buy cigarettes if their parents smoked, and 3 times as likely to choose wine or beer if their parents drank alcohol at least once a month.
All though it is not clear whether the children were more likely to ultimately smoke or drink alcohol, the study provides compelling evidence that the process of initiation which typically involves shifts in attitudes and expectations about behavior begins as young as three years of age, Dalton Claims.
It is very easy to quit smoking by using the tips as follows:
Get enough rest. With a good nights sleep you are more likely to feel fresh and alert. Exercise regularly. Regular exercise raises your overall energy level, so you may feel less need for a boost. Take a brisk walk instead of smoking if you start feeling sluggish. Moving around is a drug free stimulant. Eat regular, nutritious meals. Healthful foods are a great natural source of energy. Drink lots of cold water. It will refresh you as it helps clear your body of nicotine. Avoid getting bored, which can make you feel tired. Keep your mind active, perhaps by calling a friend, reading a new magazine, or playing a game.
Let on this day every one quit smoking which not only affects our health but makes us economically crunch. Let’s be less stylish, think more what is cigarette can do. Let this day could prove more effective thinking for a moment that how much healthy we all are.
(Author teaches English, hails from zone Dangiwacha. Feedback: [email protected])
