Tobacco: Reasons you should quit smoking

– How I smoked for 30 years –Tachio Martin Tachio started smoking at 14, when he was in the secondary school. He quit smoking last January after over 30 years of the hard to break habit. He said he was attracted to adult smokers outside his home as his parents or other members of his […]

• – How I smoked for 30 years –Tachio

Martin Tachio started smoking at 14, when he was in the secondary school. He quit smoking last January after over 30 years of the hard to break habit.

He said he was attracted to adult smokers outside his home as his parents or other members of his family did not smoke.

“I was from a fairly privileged home, so I can take N10 or so from the house and buy anything I wanted. Initially there were sanctions; some of the monies being given to me before were stopped, and there were other things being given to others that were not given to me and other privileges too, all to make me stop the bad habit.

“But those sanctions did stop me from smoking as I made up my mind to be a smoker. After my secondary school and ‘A level’ and attending higher educational institutions, I was a champion smoker and felt I was a big boy. I used to console myself that something must kill a man despite the inscription on the cigarette packs that say ‘smokers are liable to die young’.

I quit smoking last January after 30 years of being a champion smoker,” Tachio said.

On why he quit smoking, he said, “I suffered a partial cardiac arrest and this was attributed to my years of smoking, and since I quitted, my life has been much better.”

According to him, his wife and everyone around were happy about his decision.

“Right now I have no interest in cigarette or any of the stuff. I want to live long and I have become an anti-tobacco campaigner,” he added.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) Regional Director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti, tobacco smoke is dangerous. She said it contains more than 7,000 chemicals, 69 of which are known to cause cancer.

She said: “Tobacco affects the lungs in multiple ways. Smoking is the primary cause of lung cancer. It is responsible for more than two thirds of lung cancer deaths. In 2018, a total of 39,353 new cases of lung cancer were diagnosed in Africa and 37,748 deaths occurred.

However, she said people who quit smoking reduce their risk of lung cancer by 50% after only 10 years.

She said tobacco smoking was also the leading cause of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which results in a painful cough and agonizing breathing difficulties.

“The risk of developing the disease is high among individuals who start smoking at a young age because tobacco smoke significantly slows lung development. Tobacco also exacerbates asthma, which restricts activity and contributes to disability.”

Below are some reasons why people should stop smoking and would not want people smoking around them:

Smoking is the cause of about 6 million deaths per year.

• Tobacco is the second leading cause of death and the fourth leading cause of diseases worldwide.

•Tobacco has a harmful effect on every organ in the body.

• Tobacco use is responsible for over 25 deadly diseases including hypertension, heart attack, cancer and other conditions such as asthma, emphysema, tooth loss, diabetes, impotence, stomach ulcer, colon polyps, reduced fertility among others.

•Tobacco use is responsible for some pregnancy-related disorders and conditions.

•Tobacco smoking causes about 30 per cent of all cancer death, 17 per cent of all heart diseases death and at least 80 per cent death from bronchitis and emphysema.

•Lung cancers are largely due to tobacco use.

•In children, second-hand smoking causes difficulty in digestion, palpitation of the heart and restlessness in sleep, coupled with nightmares.

•Children exposed to second-hand smoking have the risk of wheezing cough and breathlessness and are likely to become smokers themselves.

 

Activists seek stiffer penalties for tobacco law violators

Advocates and public health professionals who converged on Thursday in Abuja to mark the World No Tobacco Day (WNTD) 2019 have called on the President Muhammadu Buhari administration to give priority to the enforcement of the National Tobacco Act, 2015  (NTC Act 2015) in his second tenure.

The groups include the Nigeria Tobacco Control Alliance (NTCA), Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN), Cedars Foundation, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Center (CISLAC), and University of Abuja Smoke-free Club among others.

According to them, the approval of the Draft National Tobacco Control Regulations by the Senate and House of Representatives on May 28, 2019 is a gift that will guarantee the wellbeing of current and future generations of Nigerians and should be swiftly implemented.

The coordinator, Nigeria Tobacco Control Alliance (NTCA), Mr. Olu’Seun Esan, said the 2019 World No Tobacco Day with theme, ‘Tobacco and Lung Health’, reminds governments, Nigeria’s inclusive, that tobacco causes death to users while a safe air for breathing will result in good lung health and long life for all.

“Until the approval, only a few provisions of the NTC Act, such as prohibition of sale of cigarettes to minors, were enforceable. The lacuna this created was exploited by the tobacco industry to market lethal products to kids,” he said.

Also, the Head of Media and Campaigns, ERA/FoEN, Mr. Philip Jakpor, said the 2019 WNTD reiterates the fact that smoking is responsible for over two-thirds of lung cancer deaths globally, and sadly, that second-hand smoke which most Nigerians are exposed to in daily engagements, increases the risk of developing lung cancer even for non-smokers.

Sub-Regional Coordinator, West Africa, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK), Mrs. Hilda Ochefu, commended the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, for siding with Nigerians to approve the regulations.

On his part, the Technical Resource Officer, West Africa, CTFK, Mr. Michael Olaniyan, gave a breakdown of the approved regulations as follows:

Health warnings on tobacco packs will now constitute 50 percent of the principal display surfaces, which will increase to 60 percent in four years; prescribed price list of tobacco products at point of sale, this will not contain images, symbols, colours, signs or other contents including trade mark or branding images among others.

Also included is licensing of tobacco products: N10m each as prescribed fees before issuance of license to manufacture, import or distribute tobacco products.

The Senior Programme Officer, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Mr. Okeke Anya, said beyond the approval of the regulations, government should be mindful that the tobacco industry was particular about getting replacement smokers through kids being initiated into smoking.

He therefore urged the Federal Government to mainstream tobacco control into the education curriculum at all levels.

The groups also want the regulations published in the official gazette without delay as required by Section 22 of the NTC Act 2015 and full enforcement of the NTC Act by the relevant agencies of government.