Threats in Cigarettes

Oh, so you’re a smoker I heard? Heh, don’t you know that it’s so not cool to smoke? what? It’s cool? Oh,so you  like showing your yellow teeth when smiling eh?

Not so cool after all eh?

Anyway, tobacco use is the main a source of preventable illness and death. This is one of the reasons why we should not take cigarette. Illness such as cancer of the neck, the lungs and mouth and also gangrene affecting the limbs, premature birth and miscarriages.

Leg Gangrene

Throat Cancer

Do you know that there are over 4000 harmful chemicals in a stick of tobacco smoke? These chemicals are usually the cause for uncurable cancers and these substance also cause irritant in ones body. The rate of smoking is so bad that it promotes cancerous growth that it is now universally accepted as one of the leading causes of cancer.

Here are some of the contents in a cigarette:

1. Methoprene
   A chemical used to get rid of fleas
2. Benzopyrene
   One of the most dangerous chemical known that causes cancer.This chemical is commonly used in tar mixture.
3. Arsenic
   This substance kill and burns your lip
4. Acetone
   A poisonous chemical used in nail polish removers
5. Lead
   A very HARMFUL neurotoxin that destroys your brain cell
6. Formaldehyde
   This chemical is used to preserve dead bodies and can also cause cancer
7. Turpentine
   It is a very harmful substance that is used to remove paint.
8. Propylene Glycol
   Scientist says that this is a chemical used to aid the delivery of nicotine (tobacco’s addictive drug) to the brain
9. Cadmium
   A type of heavy metal used to produce batteries that damages the brain and kidney
10. Ammonia
    A strong chemical used commonly in toilet liquid detergent.Scientist says that this is added to help smokers to absorb nicotine
11. Butane
    Highly flammable substance found in petrol and gas refills.
12. Benzene
    Another cancer-causing agent that is commonly found in petrol and pesticides.

Country smokers has reached to an alarming rate – at least 3.5 million of our (Malaysia’s) country’s population is made up of smokers. A study conducted way back in 1999 shows that 1 in 5 teenagers (in malaysia) were smokers. It is also estimated that about 50 youngsters pick up this habit of  smoking daily.

It is also reported that 30 million sticks of cigarettes were used in just a day and with that amount, it would come up to about RM6 billion in just a year.Not only that, the amount of death tolls caused by smoking sums up to about 10,000 deaths a year.

What can be done?

• Cigarettes should not be sold in places where youngsters are most likely to flock. Places such as restaurants, supermarkets, mini marts and etc.
• Only a limited amount of shops/outlet should be given permit to sell cigarettes
• Cigarettes are to be sold further away from residential areas where it would be more cumbersome for smokers to get their cigarette.
• Prices should be raised higher so that smokers would ‘feel-the-pain-in-their-pockets’ and might lessen the amount of smoking
• The minimum age that is legally allowed for smoking should be raised to the age of 21. The longer a youngster is kept from picking up this habit,the higher chances it will be that they will not pick up this bad habit.

* information source :Malaysia CAP(consumer association penang). Utusan Consumer Mar – Apr 2009


Other Facts about smoking:

Second hand smokers,a combination from the tip of the cigarette and the smoke puffed out by the smokers are said to be deadly. Children are particularly susceptible.

* image source :http://news.bbc.co.uk/nolpda/ifs_news/hi/newsid_6968000/6968580.stm

* image source : The Cancer Council ACT

(help)How to quit smoking:

• Nicotine Anonymous
• Smoke Free
• My Optum Health.com
• American Cancer Society

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