World No Tobacco Day (WNTD) is an annual awareness day that takes place on May 31. It was founded in 1987 by World Health Organization (WHO) member states to raise public awareness about the harm that tobacco products cause to people, communities, public health, and the environment.
What is Tobacco?
Tobacco is a plant whose leaves are under the process of dried and fermentation before being utilized to make tobacco items.
Tobacco includes nicotine, a substance that can lead to addiction of tobacco which is why individuals struggle to quit smoking. Many other potentially harmful chemicals can be found in tobacco or created when it is burned.
What Happens in Your Body While Consuming Tobacco?
Smoking tobacco causes harmful chemicals to enter your lungs and spread throughout your body.
- Within 10 seconds of your first puff, reach your brain, heart, and other organs.
- Go wherever your blood flows, causing harm to every part of your body.
How You Become Addicted to Tobacco?
Nicotine is highly addictive in tobacco. It causes a chemical called dopamine to be released in your brain. Dopamine is a chemical that makes individuals feel pleasure. It does the following:
- It makes you happy
- Aids in concentration
- Provides you with more energy
However, this effect is short-lived.
Your brain craves more dopamine as your nicotine levels decrease. The more dopamine you need to feel good, the longer you have been smoking. You become addicted to nicotine.
If you become addicted to nicotine, you will experience withdrawal symptoms if you stop using it. You might have trouble concentrating or be nervous, restless, irritable, or anxious.
How Tobacco Damages the Body?
- Tobacco smoke contains chemicals that can harm your body in a variety of ways. For instance:
- Nicotine causes your veins and arteries to constrict. This causes your heart to work harder and faster, slowing your blood and reducing oxygen to your hands and feet.
- Carbon monoxide depletes the oxygen that the heart needs to pump blood throughout your body. Your airways swell up over time, allowing less air into your lungs.
- Tar is a sticky substance that coats your lungs like chimney soot.
- The hair-like cells in the airways are paralyzed and killed by phenols. These cells keep the lining of your airways clean and protect them from infection.
- Tobacco smoke contains tiny particles that irritate your throat and lungs, causing a cough. This increases mucus production and damages lung tissue.
- Your eyes, nose, and throat are irritated by ammonia and formaldehyde.
- Cancer-causing chemicals cause your cells to grow abnormally or too quickly. This can lead to cancerous cells.
How can People Treat Nicotine Addiction?
People can quit smoking using both behavioral treatments and medications, but the combination of medication and counseling is more effective than either treatment alone.
Tobacco addiction can be treated in several ways. This addiction, however, can be particularly difficult to overcome. Many consumers notice that the ritual of smoking can cause relapse even after nicotine cravings have passed.
Nicotine Replacement Therapy is what the patch is entitled. It is a bandage-like sticker that you stick on your arm or back. The patch provides the body with low levels of nicotine. This assists in gradually weaning the body away from this habit.
Nicotine gum is another type of NRT that can help people who need to stop smoking or chewing. This is common because people who are quitting smoking may feel compelled to eat something. Small doses of nicotine are also delivered by the gum to help you manage cravings.
Nicotine sprays and inhalers, which deliver low doses of nicotine without the use of tobacco, can help also help in quitting smoking. These are widely available and sold over the counter. Inhaling the spray causes nicotine to enter the lungs.
