The ICA Launches World No Tobacco Day 2021

31/05/2021

2021 World No Tobacco Day - May 31

Everything stinks! From your skin, to your whole house, your clothes, and your fingers and breath.
Tobacco causes teeth to yellow and creates excess dental plaque.
Tobacco makes your skin wrinkly, making you look older faster. These wrinkles are more apparent around the lips and eyes.
Tobacco smoking increases the risk of developing psoriasis.

Over 1 million people die every year from exposure to second-hand smoke.
Non-smokers exposed to second-hand smoke are at risk of developing lung cancer.
E-cigarettes also expose non-smokers and bystanders to nicotine and other harmful chemicals.
Being exposed to second-hand smoke is associated with type 2 diabetes.

Smokers’ children suffer reduced lung function, which continues to affect them in the form of chronic respiratory disorders in adulthood.
School-aged children exposed to the harmful effects of second-hand smoke are also at risk for asthma through inflammation of the airways to the lungs.
Children under 2 years of age who are exposed to second-hand smoke in the home could get middle-ear disease possibly leading to hearing loss and deafness.

One U.S. study found that smokers burn through an average of $1.4 million in personal costs, includes spending on cigarettes, medical costs and lower wages brought on by smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke.
Tobacco use burdens the global economy with an estimated US$ 1.4 trillion.

Women smokers are more likely to experience infertility, premature births, and miscarriage.
Smoking harms men's fertility, diminishes sperm count, motility and shape of the sperm and causes impotency.

Heated tobacco products (HTPs) expose users to toxic emissions many of which can cause cancer.
There is insufficient evidence to support the claim that heated tobacco products (HTPs) are less harmful relative to conventional cigarettes.

More facts about smoking from the WHO:
Tobacco kills up to half of its users.
Tobacco kills more than 8 million people each year. More than 7 million of those deaths are the result of direct tobacco use while around 1.2 million are the result of non-smokers being exposed to second-hand smoke.
Over 80% of the world's 1.3 billion tobacco users live in low- and middle-income countries.
All forms of tobacco are harmful, and there is no safe level of exposure to tobacco. Cigarette smoking is the most common form of tobacco use worldwide.
Waterpipe tobacco use is damaging to health in similar ways to cigarette tobacco use. However, the health dangers of waterpipe tobacco use are often little understood by users.
Studies show that few people understand the specific health risks of tobacco use. However, when smokers become aware of the dangers of tobacco, most want to quit.
Without cessation support only 4% of attempts to quit tobacco will succeed.
Professional support and proven cessation medications can more than double a tobacco user's chance of successful quitting.

Beneficial health changes that take place:

Within 20 minutes, your heart rate and blood pressure drop.
12 hours, the carbon monoxide level in your blood drops to normal.
2-12 weeks, your circulation improves and your lung function increases.
1-9 months, coughing and shortness of breath decrease.
1 year, your risk of coronary heart disease is about half that of a smoker's.
5 years, your stroke risk is reduced to that of a nonsmoker 5 to 15 years after quitting.
10 years, your risk of lung cancer falls to about half that of a smoker and your risk of cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus, bladder, cervix, and pancreas decreases.
15 years, the risk of coronary heart disease is that of a nonsmoker's.