Information about the dangers of smoking. Schoolchild about the dangers of smoking

According to many experts, each cigarette shortens our lives by about 15 minutes. Smokers have a high risk of getting serious illnesses and subsequently die from them. Today the whole world is struggling with this habit of mankind, even an alternative to tobacco has been invented, in the form of electronic cigarettes.

Quit smoking, according to doctors, is never too late. In the absence of the development of the disease, the likelihood of getting sick will decrease. Full recovery of the body after smoking occurs after 10 years of abstinence from smoking.

The most toxic and dangerous substances for the human body are found in tobacco smoke. These substances are nicotine and tar.

Our respiratory system is arranged in this way - we breathe air passing through the stages of purification. Before getting into our lungs. Cleansing is carried out by a sticky liquid, as well as mucus located in the nose and respiratory tract (upper).

Mucus traps bacteria and dirt. Small hairs of mucus are sent from the lungs to the throat, and then the nasal cavity.

The tars found in tobacco smoke irritate the respiratory tract. For this reason, the paths narrow and severe mucus discharge occurs. In this case, the hairs cannot cope with their direct functions. As a result, bacteria and dirt begin to settle on the lungs. Q For this reason, the smoker develops a dry cough, mostly in the morning. This speaks of the so-called bronchitis syndrome.

As a result, the lungs become vulnerable to both viruses and infections.

Lung cancer is diagnosed in 90% of people who are long-term smokers. This disease develops because of the tar in the smoke.

Nicotine has a detrimental effect on the central nervous system, as well as on the brain. This is why smokers enjoy smoking cigarettes. Non-smokers experience dizziness and, in some cases, nausea when they try to smoke.

Nicotine also causes vasoconstriction and increased heart rate. For this reason, there may be serious illness of cardio-vascular system.

Numerous scientific studies have shown that cigarettes with low tar and nicotine content are less dangerous than stronger cigarettes. However, there is another pattern here, when switching to light cigarettes, the total number of cigarettes smoked increases. For this reason, the harm of smoking will not decrease.

To stop a smoker from cigarettes, while stress-free, you need to gradually reduce the amount of tar and nicotine. When a smoker switches to light cigarettes, the number of cigarettes smoked per day should in any case decrease.

Addictions are dangerous addictions that sometimes cause irreparable harm to the human body. Many people know how harmful smoking is, but not everyone can assess the real risk and give up the habit. Even manufacturers talk about the dangers of addiction. The legislator forces to warn citizens about the consequences of smoking.

How do cigarettes affect the body? All doctors know that there is not a single cigarette that would allow the body to rejuvenate and get rid of any ailment. Addiction has a negative impact on every organ and body. That is why smoking is called the real scourge of modern mankind. All forces are thrown into the fight against such habits - from propaganda of the dangers of smoking at school to signboards and billboards, a visual demonstration of "smoky lungs" in many cabinets of curiosities.

Doctors quite rightly equate addiction to alcohol addiction. About the harm that smoking cigarettes brings, the manufacturer "tells" by providing relevant information on the packs of cigarettes. Numerous studies have shown that prolonged smoking leads to death, and women are deprived of the opportunity to become a happy mother of healthy babies.

Smoking: a perspective on history

In the past, no one thought about whether nicotine was harmful. The fact is that such an addiction appeared first in America, from where it spread throughout the planet. The Indians on their prairies grew tobacco everywhere, and then dried it, twisted and smoked the leaves. In the distant past, the Indians had leftovers from the processing of tobacco. Modern production is able to process even stems that were not previously used for smoking.

After landing on the shores of America, Columbus received a dangerous gift from the locals - a bush of tobacco. The navigator did not appreciate such a greeting, and the very first smokers in Europe were sent to jail for their addiction. In those days, no one knew about the effect of smoking on the human body, but the habit was considered dangerous and was strictly punished according to the laws of the church.

However, smokers turned out to be more stubborn than church dogmas, and therefore, already in the middle of the 16th century, the first bushes of tobacco appeared on the plantations of Spain. The first smokers who did not care what harm smoking causes to the body were representatives of high society. They also became the first tobacco monopolists, who diligently hooked all of Europe on tobacco.

The decisive step taken by the monopolists to spread the terrible poison was the inclusion of several packs of cigarettes in the soldiers' rations. And if during the war the manufacturer suffered losses, then after its end the level of demand for products increased significantly. At the same time, tobacco began to be explored. Doctors and scientists have realized that smoking is harmful. Today, every preschooler knows about this, and packs of cigarettes have received the corresponding inscriptions. And since smoking is injurious to health, many young people advocate a healthy lifestyle. However, there are still smokers who should be reminded why smoking is unhealthy.

Harm of tobacco: what do passive and active smokers inhale?

There is such a thing as a passive smoker. He may never smoke either electronic or classic cigarettes.

y. But he still feels the harm from smoking, especially if you have to spend a large number of time with a person who neither wants nor seeks to get rid of the habit.

It is important to understand that a cigarette is not a harmless compact toy. This is a real monster, wrapped in decent packaging. One single cigarette or cigar contains up to 4,000 hazardous substances. This chemical "cocktail" systematically affects one organ after another, affects the body, can lead to death.

Harm of cigarettes in their contents. Particularly hazardous components are:

• Arsenic is the most harmful and carcinogenic element found in tobacco. This substance only accumulates in the body, is practically not excreted, reduces the function of all organs, negatively affects the heart muscle and blood vessels. It is arsenic that will provoke the emergence and growth of cancerous tumors.
• Resins are a complex of solid particles that, under the influence of elevated temperature, enter the body, settle on the walls of the lungs, and are a carcinogen.
• Polonium is a radioactive element that has an extremely negative effect from the inside and gradually kills the body.
• Benzene is a toxic element of organic origin. It enters the body with smoke, provokes the growth of tumors.
• Formaldehydes are substances that have toxic properties. They cause damage to the respiratory tract and lung disease.
• Other dangerous substances are a whole set of them, and each component brings its own little death, first to cells, then to organs, and then to the whole organism. After prolonged and many years of smoking, it is possible to restore the body, but it takes years, and some smokers do not have them.

The effect of smoking on the body is unambiguous. It is in the distant past that tobacco was prescribed as an effective remedy for migraines. This process provided only temporary relief, but spoiled the vessels, the circulatory system, the heart muscle, systematically destroyed all organs.

Smokers take note! Do not think that smoking is harmless. Even those people who are just addicted to addiction are already subject to negative influences. The harm of tobacco is that it emits dangerous substances, albeit in micro fractions. Gradually, they accumulate in the body, are not excreted. Scientists have come to the conclusion that the harm of smoking is that one pack of cigarettes is equal to 500 x-rays of exposure.

Disappointing statistics

Smoking and its effect on humans have long been studied by scientists. That is why there are few smokers among them. The main task of scientists is to prove the harm of smoking and convince the world's population to give up the killer habit. Studies are constantly being conducted that have confirmed that smoking is the scourge of developing countries with unstable economies. Here, children in schools and the younger generation are not told what harm can be done to the body by cigarettes.

Statistics show that in countries with a low hygiene culture, more than 60% of the population smokes. The danger is that a quarter of those who are addicted are teenagers who are just starting to live, and their body is growing. At this young age, he receives a whole bunch of diseases that he will have to fight all his life.

What will suffer first?

Smoking is injurious to health, that's for sure. To tell the younger generation about this, schools create special programs that are designed to convey exactly what the harm to human health is. Often, special films and commercials can be shown as demonstration material, meetings with yesterday's smokers and those who are just trying to get rid of the habit can be arranged.

Tobacco smoking and its impact on human health is a topic for many scientific discussions, but one thing is clear for sure - any cigarettes, even light ones, cause harm.

The first to suffer are the lungs, which take the brunt of the blow. The emitted smoke and the concentrate of hazardous substances harm the entire respiratory system - resins envelop the walls of the bronchi, after which they make them brittle, deprive them of elasticity and the ability to resist pathogenic microflora.

How is the respiratory system affected?

Often an unpleasant, but quite natural and expected surprise for a smoker is the appearance of pulmonary emphysema. This is a disease that leads to hypoxia of the internal organs, and the lungs themselves cease to perform the functions assigned to them. Gradually cells lung tissue they are literally corroded by vapors and resins, and then they begin to be replaced by malignant ones.

Quite quickly, the smoker will feel that there is an unpleasant shortness of breath, he cannot normally exercise, swim and run. He will need numerous stops during sports. Cough becomes a constant companion of the smoker, it manifests itself in the morning and after each smoked cigarette.

Often the lungs become a black rotting mass. This is clearly visible upon opening. Such "exhibits" often end up in cabinets of curiosities and become a clear demonstration of the consequences of a bad habit.

If someone thinks about whether smoking is harmful to the body, doctors offer a simple test to dispel doubts. Gather a mouthful of cigarette smoke, and then release it into a napkin or gauze folded several times. After the first time, the material will turn into an unpleasant brown-brown hue. These are resins with a full range of harmful substances. They settle on the walls of the lungs, and the temperature of such steam reaches 700-900 degrees. It burns the mucous membrane, literally burns the cells.

The external consequences of cigarettes are an unpresentable appearance, a grayish complexion, early wrinkles, and cracked tooth enamel. Often - this is a kind of indicator that will allow you to find out about the age of addiction.

You have to go to the dentist quite often after smoking. An unpleasant yellowish plaque and a mass of black tartar appear on the surface of the teeth. They have to be removed several times a year. And the enamel from the constant temperature drop and the habit of smoking several cigarettes a day becomes fragile. Resins clog into microcracks, and therefore the teeth become black. Large cracks lead to the death of the tooth root and its blackening. Only crowns and dental implants can correct the situation.

Smoking is harmful - this is an indisputable truth that is well known to all doctors. Cardiologists are no exception. Often their patients are smokers. They suffer from constant exposure to steam and tar, as well as nicotine, which dilates blood vessels - they become brittle.

The consequences of long-term smoking are thrombosis, ischemic and Buerger's disease. Among the dangerous manifestations are also disorders in peripheral vessels, and with a long smoking history, the risk of developing strokes and heart attacks increases many times over.

Oral cavity

A companion of a heavy smoker becomes a foul-smelling disease - halitosis. It is called bad breath, which becomes a constant companion of the smoker and is not interrupted by any chewing gum, sprays. Smoking is extremely dangerous for mucous membranes, including the oral cavity. Hot tobacco smoke provokes constant inflammatory processes, even loss of teeth. Another nuisance for smokers is an imbalance of the acid-base environment in the oral cavity. Continuous smoking leads to the development of gum disease - periodontal disease.

How does the genitourinary system suffer from smoking?

Another body system that suffers from smoking is the genitourinary system. Continuous smoking leads to the fact that the amount of oxygen supplied and carried is reduced. The rush of blood decreases along with the fact that cholesterol and dangerous substances are deposited on the walls of the vessels. The kidneys can suffer, as well as the entire reproductive system. In men, sexual impotence is often observed, which strong stimulant drugs cannot always cope with.

Smoking also damages the urinary tract. Frequent consequences in women are anovulation cycles, menstrual dysfunction. Men will suffer no less - in the strong half, the number and the level of sperm motility decrease over time, erectile dysfunction is noted, etc.

Musculoskeletal system

Smoking cigarettes will lead to the gradual destruction of the skeleton, ligaments, muscles, tendons will constantly suffer from tobacco smoke. Under the influence of toxic substances, calcium absorption is blocked / reduced, which is fraught with an increase in the number of fractures and the development of osteoporosis. Long-term smokers often develop rheumatoid arthritis.

Other organs

Not only the organs described above suffer from smoking. All body systems, including the gastrointestinal tract, the brain, bone tissue, and skin, feel the negative impact. Various eye diseases (loss of visual acuity, destruction of the retina, etc.) become frequent companions of a dangerous habit. In addition to these diseases, smokers are at risk of developing type 2 diabetes. They automatically fall into the risk group for the development of such diseases: hearing loss, atherosclerosis.

The undeniable harm of smoking: what to expect the consequences?

The degree of influence of smoking on human health is constantly studied by the scientific community. The results of dozens of surveys are reported every day by research laboratories. The misconception that smoking is not dangerous has long been in the past. Once upon a time, tobacco was considered a real panacea, but today even a child knows about the dangers of nicotine.

Blood enriched with dangerous carcinogens spreads in the body, it saturates the internal organs with poison. This is a dangerous trend that can lead to the formation of pathologies.

Why is smoking bad for men? You should quit a bad habit because it leads to:

• Chronic bronchitis;
• Tuberculosis, reduced immunity;
• The formation of malignant tumors;
• Progression of retinal dystrophy;
• pneumonia;
• Decreased erectile function;
• Enamel cracking and numerous diseases of the oral cavity, etc.

To what consequences smoking of tobacco can lead, do not get tired to remind the doctor. This is a negative habit that gradually leads to infertility, as well as the formation of pathologies. The issue is especially acute for smokers with a decent experience, as well as for men whose age has already exceeded the 40 mark.

Smoking: what is the harm to a woman?

Quite often female smokers face the problem of infertility. The issue is especially acute for those who are addicted to smoking at a young age. Cigarettes harm literally all systems and organs, regardless of the woman's age. Often smoking leads to problems with:

• Carrying a child. A woman who smokes cigarettes during pregnancy risks the health of the baby. He can be born with pathologies. There is a risk of spontaneous abortion in the early stages.
• Vessels and heart. Smoking causes myocardial infarction, vascular obstruction.
• Skin - it fades, prematurely ages.
• Hair and nails, the figure and the whole will suffer appearance. Contrary to popular belief that smoking helps to lose weight, smokers often exceed the weight limit. Fat finds a place to a greater extent on the waist and chest, and on the hips its amount decreases. This leads to imbalances.
• Teeth - the enamel is covered with a thin mesh, and the formed microgrooves are filled with resins, blacken or turn yellow.
• Peristalsis - the vessels of the stomach and the entire digestive tract are constantly narrowing, which leads to problems with the gastrointestinal tract.
• Mental state. Smoking harms not only the physiology, but also causes irreparable harm to the psyche. Women who smoke are prone to depression, they suffer from prolonged stress, as well as their relapses.

Smoking is a pathological habit that also harms the child. A growing body learns a lot from its parents. Often these habits become the norm.

How does smoking harm teens and children?

Smoking harms the normal growth and development of the growing body. Often, people who are addicted to cigarettes in childhood die early from cancer. In dysfunctional families, smoking becomes the norm already at the age of 13–14, when the body still needs to give all its strength to strengthen bones, respiratory organs, the genitourinary system, etc. It is a cigarette that is capable of:

• Reduce the intellectual abilities of the young organism, reduce motor skills.
• Lead to innovation.
• Have a negative impact on the state of the psyche.
• lead to infertility in the future.
• Disrupt the growth process of the body.
• Lead to an increase in body weight and a disproportion in the circumferences of the waist and hips.

Smoking at an early age affects all organs and systems of the body. Young people who are addicted to a dangerous habit are at risk of getting diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, cardiovascular and nervous systems, and the musculoskeletal system. This is due to the fact that the blood supplies concentrated dangerous substances to each organ, and this leads to the formation of various pathologies.

What diseases are caused by smoking?

Cigarettes are harmful to smoke, because they provoke pathological changes in the body:

• emphysema;
• Chronical bronchitis;
• Malignant neoplasms;
• myocardial infarction;
• Atherosclerosis of vessels;
• Pneumonia;
• Thromboembolism of the lungs;
• Infertility;
• impotence and frigidity;
• Obliterating endarteritis.

However, there is another consequence of smoking - cancer. Substances that are present in smoke provoke the growth of malignant pathological neoplasms. It is impossible to cope with such consequences without serious and expensive treatment. That is why it is important for parents to explain to their child why smoking is harmful.

Do not forget the harm that smoking brings to others. It is colossal, since it is passive smokers who receive the lion's share of harmful substances. Giving up a bad habit is a blessing not only for yourself, but also for those around you. Nicotine in tobacco smoke can cause allergic reaction and rapid pulse. In some people, this component causes asthma attacks. Faced with, you need to be wary of the effects of combustible tobacco, and these are:

• Eye irritation and other allergic reactions.
• Depression and stress.
• Itching and dryness in the throat.
• Attacks of coughing.
• Risk of spontaneous miscarriage (especially dangerous in the first trimester of pregnancy).
• Decrease in labor productivity, working capacity.

Information about the dangers of smoking is available to everyone. Many people know that passive smoking is often more dangerous than active smoking, and therefore should not be tolerated. As soon as someone starts to "smoke" nearby, you should make a remark or simply retire to a safe distance.

Can smoking become harmless?

The World Health Organization has published the results of practical studies. They point out that, despite all the warnings about the dangers of smoking, people quite consciously continue to abuse cigarettes. That is why research companies do what is necessary to make the addiction safe. That is how the alternative was created - the electronic cigarette.

In the process of smoking a special mixture, only nicotine is released. The proposed liquid is devoid of carcinogens and hazardous chemical compounds released during smoldering tobacco. Nicotine is harmful to health in that it is addictive, but the smoke does not contain dangerous hydrocyanic acid and carbon dioxide, formaldehydes and heavy metals. There is also no unpleasant odor.

Among the popular and sought-after novelties is tobacco without smoke. We are talking about Swedish snus and snuff. The first is for chewing. The soaked mass is laid for a short time between the gum and the lip, but such a hobby is also harmful to health. In some countries, such tobacco is equated with narcotic substances and is prohibited from sale and use.

The dangers of smoking during pregnancy

“Smoking harms your health” is a postulate familiar from childhood. However, some future mothers simply forget how smoking is injurious to health. And the risks are huge for both mom and the unborn baby.

Children who in the womb suffer from nicotine and all the dangerous substances of smoke, more often than other babies suffer from neuropsychic defects.

Do not forget about the possibility of other pathologies and the risk of spontaneous abortion. Future daddies who smoke should also be aware of passive smoking of their second halves. You should smoke your cigarette away from a woman so as not to harm her.

Dangerous Consequences

The effect of tobacco on the human body is unambiguous - this product causes irreparable harm to health. You should think about the fact that healthy babies are born to those who do not have bad habits at all. Long-term smokers may not have children at all. But these are not the only troubles among the dangerous consequences.

Smoking is one of the worst habits.

Research has proven the dangers of smoking. Tobacco smoke contains more than 30 toxic substances: Nicotine, Carbon dioxide.

Carbon monoxide, Hydrocyanic acid, Ammonia, Resinous substances, Organic acids and others.

1-2 packs of cigarettes contain a lethal dose of nicotine. The smoker is saved by the fact that this dose is introduced into the body not immediately, but fractionally. Statistics say: compared to non-smokers, long-term smokers are 13 times more likely to get angina pectoris, 12 times more likely to have myocardial infarction, 10 times more likely to have stomach ulcers. Smokers make up 96 - 100% of all lung cancer patients. Every seventh long-term smoker suffers from obliterating endarteritis - a serious disease of the blood vessels.

Tobacco products are prepared from dried tobacco leaves, which contain proteins, carbohydrates, mineral salts, fiber, enzymes, fatty acids and others. Among them, it is important to note two groups of substances dangerous to humans - nicotine and isoprenoids.

According to the quantitative content in tobacco leaves and the strength of the effect on various bodies and human systems, nicotine occupies the first place. It enters the body along with tobacco smoke, which contains, in addition to nicotine, irritating substances, including carcinogens (Benzpyrene and Dibenzpyren, that is, contributing to the occurrence of malignant tumors, many carbon dioxide - 9.5% (in atmospheric air - 0.046%) and carbon monoxide - 5% (it is not in atmospheric air).

Nicotine is a nerve poison. In experiments on animals and observations on humans, it has been established that nicotine in small doses excites nerve cells, promotes increased respiration and heart rate, heart rhythm disturbances, nausea and vomiting. In large doses, it inhibits and then paralyzes the activity of CNS cells, including vegetative ones. Disorder nervous system manifested by a decrease in working capacity, trembling of hands, weakening of memory.

Nicotine also affects the glands internal secretion, in particular, on the adrenal glands, which at the same time secrete a hormone into the blood - Adrenaline, which causes vasospasm, increased blood pressure and increased heart rate. Harmfully affecting the sex glands, nicotine contributes to the development of sexual weakness in men - IMPOTENCE!!! Therefore, her treatment begins with the fact that the patient is offered to stop smoking.

Smoking is especially harmful to children and teenagers. The nervous and circulatory systems, which are not yet strong, react painfully to tobacco.

In addition to nicotine, other components of tobacco smoke also have a negative effect. When carbon monoxide enters the body, oxygen starvation develops, due to the fact that carbon monoxide combines with hemoglobin more easily than oxygen and is delivered with blood to all human tissues and organs.

The experiment found that 70% of mice that inhaled tobacco smoke developed malignant lung tumors. Cancer in smokers occurs 20 times more often than in non-smokers. The longer a person smokes, the more likely he is to die from this serious disease. Statistical studies have shown that smokers often have cancerous tumors in other organs - the esophagus, stomach, larynx, kidneys. Smokers often develop cancer of the lower lip as a result of the carcinogenic effect of the extract that accumulates in the mouthpiece of the pipe.

Very often, smoking leads to the development of chronic bronchitis, accompanied by a constant cough and bad breath. As a result of chronic inflammation, the bronchi expand, bronchiectasis is formed with serious consequences - pneumosclerosis, emphysema, with the so-called cor pulmonale, leading to circulatory failure. This determines the appearance of a heavy smoker: a hoarse voice, a puffy face, shortness of breath.

The role of smoking in the occurrence of tuberculosis is also great. Thus, 95 out of 100 people suffering from it were smoking by the time the disease began.

Often smokers experience pain in the heart. This is due to a spasm of the coronary vessels that feed the heart muscle with the development of angina pectoris (coronary heart failure). In-

myocardial infarction in smokers occurs 3 times more often than in non-smokers.

Smoking may also be the main cause of persistent vasospasm. lower extremities, contributing to the development of obliterating endarteritis, affecting mainly men. This disease leads to malnutrition, gangrene and eventually to amputation of the lower limb.

From the substances contained in tobacco smoke, the digestive tract also suffers, primarily the teeth and oral mucosa. Nicotine increases the secretion of gastric juice, which causes aching pain in the stomach, nausea and vomiting.

These signs can also be a manifestation of gastritis, gastric ulcer, which occurs much more often in smokers than in non-smokers. For example, among men with stomach ulcers, 96 - 97% smoked.

Smoking can cause nicotinic amblyopia. In a patient suffering from this disease, partial or complete blindness occurs. This is a very formidable disease, in which even energetic treatment is not always successful.

Smokers endanger not only themselves, but also those around them. In medicine, even the term "passive smoking" has appeared. In the body of non-smokers after staying in a smoky and unventilated room, a significant concentration of nicotine is determined.

Not only medical duty, but also love for the younger generation of our country prompts us to warn young men and women against smoking!

Smoking is POISON!!!

Harm of smoking

Introduction. Tobacco, alcohol and health

1. Harm of smoking

1.1 Composition of tobacco smoke

1.2 The effect of smoking on the human body

1.3 Smoking and teenagers

1.4 Insidiousness of the cigarette

1.5 Put out your cigarette!

Conclusion

List of used literature

Introduction. Tobacco, alcohol and health

Smoking and alcohol consumption are incompatible with a healthy lifestyle.

Academician Ivan Petrovich Pavlov said: "Do not drink wine, do not grieve your heart with tobacco - and you will live as long as Titian lived" (Titian, a brilliant Italian artist, lived 99 years and died of plague). Pavlov himself did not drink wine and lived for 87 years.

Every smoker who consumes 20 cigarettes a day voluntarily shortens his life by five years, each cigarette "costs" him five and a half minutes of his life. Mortality among smokers is on average 50 percent higher than among non-smokers.

"A drop wears away a stone" - so says the popular proverb. Indeed, every cigarette smoked leaves a certain trace in the body. As a result, sooner or later, smokers experience pathological changes in the respiratory tract, heart, blood vessels, gastrointestinal tract, which leads to the development of serious illnesses and shortens life.

According to a World Health Organization (WHO) report, smoking causes one million deaths each year.

According to WHO Europe, between 1982 and 2000 in Europe alone, smoking will cause 10 million deaths from diseases such as lung cancer, heart disease and emphysema.

Smoking is one of the leading causes of cancer in the United States. Here, on average, 85 percent of lung cancer cases are caused by this bad habit. The number of patients among smokers is more than twice that of those who do not smoke.

Now there are more and more people who are emphatically negative about alcohol and tobacco. They bring into fashion - good fashion- smartness, athletic appearance, simplicity and politeness in communicating with others, they are guided by a healthy lifestyle, work that would develop creative inclinations and lead to the realization of abilities. And thus resist the habits that weaken the will and stupefy the intellect.

1. Harm of smoking

When a person touches a cigarette for the first time, he does not think about the dire consequences that smoking can lead to. Being careless about their health, the smoker considers himself invulnerable, especially since the consequences of smoking do not affect immediately, but after a number of years and depend on its intensity, the number of cigarettes smoked, the depth of inhalation of tobacco smoke, the duration of smoking, etc.

Most people are optimistic. Being healthy, they usually believe that they will always be in good health, and all sorts of diseases are the lot of other, weaker, more susceptible people. But, alas, such optimism cannot be considered justified if you do not take measures to prevent diseases, do not give up bad habits.

The smoke of cigarettes slowly undermines the health of the smoker. Scientists cite the following data: if tobacco tar is isolated from a thousand cigarettes, then up to 2 milligrams of a strong carcinogen is found in it, which is quite enough to cause a malignant tumor in a rat or rabbit. If we take into account that for this a number of people smoke up to 40 cigarettes a day and even more, then it will take them only 25 days to smoke a thousand cigarettes.

It is impossible not to say that the human body has a large margin of safety due to the presence in it of protective mechanisms that resist the influence of foreign substances. However, some of these substances can still cause irreparable harm to health.

When do they start smoking? Mostly at school age. Peaks" refers to 14, 17 and 19 years.

A slight decrease in the number of smokers is observed after 25 years. However, if men begin to sharply limit their consumption of cigarettes from the age of 40-44, and after 45 years they often completely refuse them, then in women this happens 5 years later.

Quitting smoking is not that hard. Exercising, traveling, avoiding contact with smokers will help you get rid of tobacco and the threat of cancer, chronic bronchitis, and other diseases.

1.1 Composition of tobacco smoke

At the moment of tightening the smoke of a cigarette, the temperature at its end reaches 60 degrees and above. Under such thermal conditions, sublimation of tobacco and tissue paper occurs, and about 200 harmful substances are formed, including carbon monoxide, soot, benzopyrene, formic, hydrocyanic acid, arsenic, ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, acetylene, and radioactive elements. Smoking one cigarette is equivalent to being on a busy highway for 36 hours.

A cigarette usually contains several milligrams of nicotine. Only a quarter of this charge enters the smoke that a smoker inhales. And what is interesting: when there is little nicotine in a cigarette, the frequency and depth of puffs is greater, and vice versa. Smokers seem to seek to saturate the body with a certain dose of nicotine. Which one? Yes, the one in which the desired psychological effect is achieved: a feeling of a surge of strength, some calm.

Carbon monoxide, or carbon monoxide, has the ability to bind the respiratory pigment of the blood - hemoglobin. The resulting carboxyhemoglobin is unable to carry oxygen; as a result, the processes of tissue respiration are disrupted. It has been established that when smoking a pack of cigarettes, a person introduces more than 400 milliliters of carbon monoxide into the body, as a result, the concentration of carboxyhemoglobin in the blood increases to 7-10 percent. Thus, all organs and systems of a smoker constantly sit on a starvation of oxygen rations.

1.2 The effect of smoking on the human body

Nicotine appears in the brain tissue 7 seconds after the first puff. What is the secret of the effect of nicotine on brain function? Nicotine, as it were, improves communication between brain cells, facilitating the conduction of nerve impulses. Due to nicotine, brain processes are excited for a while, but then they are inhibited for a long time. After all, the brain needs rest. By shifting the pendulum of mental activity that is familiar to him, the smoker then inevitably feels its reverse movement.

But the insidiousness of nicotine is not only in this. It manifests itself with prolonged smoking. The brain gets used to constant nicotine handouts, which to some extent facilitate its work. And now he himself begins to demand them, not wanting to be especially overworked. The law of biological laziness comes into its own. Like an alcoholic who has to “feed” his brain with alcohol to maintain normal health, a smoker is forced to “spoil” him with nicotine. Otherwise, anxiety, irritability, nervousness appear. Here, willy-nilly, you smoke again.

The respiratory organs are the first to take on a tobacco attack. And they suffer the most. Passing through the respiratory tract, tobacco smoke causes irritation, inflammation of the mucous membranes of the pharynx, nasopharynx, trachea, bronchi, and pulmonary alveoli. Constant irritation of the bronchial mucosa can provoke the development bronchial asthma. And chronic inflammation of the upper respiratory tract, chronic bronchitis, accompanied by a debilitating cough, is the fate of all smokers. Undoubtedly, a connection has also been established between smoking and the incidence of cancer of the lips, tongue, larynx, and trachea.

In the last decade, scientists and practitioners have been increasingly concerned about the detrimental effect that the components of tobacco smoke have on the cardiovascular system. Damage to the heart and blood vessels in people who smoke a lot and systematically, as a rule, is a consequence of a violation of the nervous and humoral regulation of the activity of the cardiovascular system.

Numerous experiments have shown that after smoking a cigarette (cigarettes) the amount of corticosteroids, as well as adrenaline and adrenaline norms, increases sharply compared to the norm. These biologically active substances encourage the heart muscle to work at a faster pace; the volume of the heart increases arterial pressure increases the rate of myocardial contractions.

It is estimated that the heart of a smoker makes 12-15 thousand more contractions per day than the heart of a non-smoker. By itself, this mode is uneconomical, since excessive constant load leads to premature wear of the heart muscle. But the situation is aggravated by the fact that the myocardium does not receive the amount of oxygen that it needs during such intensive work. This is due to two reasons.

Firstly, the smoker's coronary vessels are spasmodic, narrowed, and, consequently, blood flow through them is very difficult. And secondly, the blood circulating in the body of a smoker is poor in oxygen. For, as we remember, 10 percent of hemoglobin is excluded from the respiratory process: they are forced to carry a "dead weight" - carbon monoxide molecules.

All this contributes early development coronary heart disease, angina pectoris in smokers. And it is quite justified among the risk factors for myocardial infarction, experts call smoking one of the first. This is confirmed by the statistics of industrialized countries: heart attacks at a relatively young age - 40-50 years old - occur almost exclusively in smokers.

In tobacco lovers, hypertension is much more difficult than in non-smokers: it is more often complicated by hypertensive crises, impaired cerebral circulation - stroke.

Smoking is one of the main reasons for the development of such a serious disease as obliterating endarteritis. With this disease, the vascular system of the legs is affected, sometimes up to complete obliteration (closing of the lumen) of the vessels and the onset of gangrene. In people who do not poison themselves with tobacco, this disease is extremely rare. Compare 14 percent of cases in smokers to only 0.3 percent in non-smokers. These figures were obtained during examination of a large group of patients.

Nicotine and other components of tobacco also affect the digestive organs. Scientific studies and clinical observations undeniably testify that long-term smoking contributes to the occurrence of peptic ulcer of the stomach and duodenum.

In a person who smokes a lot and for a long time, the stomach vessels are in a state of constant spasm. As a result, the tissues are poorly supplied with oxygen and nutrients, the secretion of gastric juice is disturbed. And in the end - gastritis or peptic ulcer. In one of the Moscow clinics, a survey was conducted, which showed that 69 percent of patients with peptic ulcer disease had a direct relationship with smoking. Of those operated on in this clinic for such a dangerous complication as perforation of an ulcer, about 90 percent were heavy smokers.

Middle-aged women could have much better teeth if they avoided smoking when they were young. According to research results, only 26 percent of non-smoking women over the age of 50 needed dentures. And among smokers, 48 ​​percent experienced such a need.

Stefan Prescod, an American otolaryngologist from Andrews University (Michigan), observing his patients, came to the conclusion that smoking adversely affects hearing aid person. Smoking impairs a person's hearing to the same extent as the aging of the body. Even 20 cigarettes smoked per day lead to a weakening of the normal perception of colloquial speech.

Smoking adversely affects a pregnant woman. Inhalation of smoke from cigarettes and cigarettes is accompanied by its active effect on the vascular system, especially at the level of small vessels and capillaries that supply internal organs with oxygen and essential nutrients. Generalized vasospasm and deterioration in the functions of the lungs, brain, heart, and kidneys occur. An adult who is accustomed to smoking does not notice any unpleasant sensations, but the negative effect on the vascular system, gradually accumulating, will necessarily manifest itself in the form of hypertension, angina pectoris, and a tendency to thrombosis. During pregnancy, the negative effects of smoking appear much faster, and especially in relation to the developing child. It is shown that if the mother smoked during pregnancy, the weight of the newborn is less than the norm by 150-200 grams.

Trisomy, that is, the presence of an "extra" chromosome in the human genetic set, often leads to serious hereditary diseases. Scientists have long been studying the causes of this phenomenon. Doctors from Columbia University in New York have found a clear link between smoking and trisomy in pregnant women. Statistical calculations have shown that the risk of this phenomenon in women who smoke is significantly higher than in non-smokers.

1.3 Teen and cigarettes

Currently, girls, boys and even teenagers are drawn to a cigarette. It has been established that many of them tried a tobacco potion at the age of 15, and adults, mostly parents, often became the reason for this. But the example of a non-smoking father, better than all moralizing or suggestion, will convince you of the uselessness and harm of smoking. Conversely, a child who is accustomed to seeing parents or relatives with a cigarette in their hands perceives smoking as something natural. In addition, according to the erroneous ideas of a teenager, smoking is a sign of courage, independence, to which he aspires due to age characteristics. It is far from always a pleasure, and, of course, the body does not feel any need for tobacco - you just want to seem more mature.

Dizziness, nausea, sometimes vomiting - the symptoms that accompany the first cigarette, the teenager carefully hides from others, especially from comrades, among whom he would not like to lose "authority". The body of a teenager eventually adapts to tobacco poisons, the habit of smoking becomes more and more durable, and it is much more difficult to break with it, especially for a weak-willed person.

Parents should know: the younger the child, the more sensitive his body to tobacco. First of all, nicotine and other tobacco poisons disrupt the normal activity of the central nervous and cardiovascular systems. Moreover, not only smoking, but simply inhaling smoke in a smoky room contributes to sleep disturbance, leads to irritability and, ultimately, to nervousness.

Studies conducted in several Moscow schools showed that the largest number of underachieving students was in those classes where smoking schoolchildren were identified. A teenager who smokes noticeably lags behind his peers not only in mental, but also in physical development. Insufficient blood oxygen saturation, metabolic disorders, in particular vitamin absorption WITH, leads to a sharp decrease in muscle strength, impaired performance. That is why there are no real athletes among young people who smoke. Smoking and sports are incompatible, namely, it is necessary for a teenager to assert himself.

It is especially sad to see girls with a cigarette. They do not think about the inevitable harmful consequences that smoking leads to sooner or later. Namely: due to insufficient blood supply, the skin loses its elasticity, premature wrinkles appear. Tobacco not only has a detrimental effect on appearance, but also leads to serious physiological disorders. For example, nicotine contributes to the development of inflamed processes in the gums, the teeth eventually acquire a yellowish tint and begin to collapse. Violation of the normal functioning of certain organs and systems female body may affect later, when a woman is preparing to become a mother.

But while a person is young, full of strength, enthusiasm and energy, he, as a rule, does not think about future diseases, it seems to him that health and youth are eternal. Doctors persistently, resolutely, constantly fight against smoking, especially among young people.

1.4 Insidiousness of the cigarette

The harm caused by nicotine affects more than just the smokers themselves. In the US, tobacco taxes are estimated to cost $8 billion and losses due to disability, disease, and premature death $19 billion. This is approximately the ratio - 1:2.4 - in Germany. Of the 54 million people in England, 17 million people belong to the army of smokers. Around 100,000 English people fall victim to tobacco every year. This conclusion was reached by the Commission of the Royal College. In the study prepared by her, it is said that tobacco smoke negatively affects the performance of both smokers themselves and their environment. It is estimated that about 50 million hours of work are lost every year in England because of this. The study emphasizes that smoking - the "disease of the century" - is just as dangerous to human health as cholera, diphtheria, tuberculosis. If a non-smoking woman's husband is a heavy smoker, then she "smokes" at least five cigarettes a day. But passive smoking is especially dangerous for a child's body. German scientists G. Mau and P. Nette examined large group families and concluded that children whose fathers smoke had a relatively higher mortality rate, even if their mothers did not touch cigarettes.

In the United States, the effects of tobacco smoke on the functional activity of children's lungs have been studied. The conclusion was unequivocal: smoking of parents contributes to the occurrence of pulmonary diseases in their offspring. This is explained simply - the constant air pollution in residential premises with tarry substances, nicotine, etc., has an extremely adverse effect on young, not yet formed respiratory organs. In addition, it has been observed that the constituents of tobacco smoke often cause serious allergic reactions.

Passive smoking, that is, the inhalation of tobacco smoke by non-smokers, can contribute to the development of atherosclerosis. The Austrian scientists simulated the environment typical of discos, restaurants and other places where smoking is allowed. Participants were exposed to tobacco smoke for 15 minutes and blood samples were taken before smoke inhalation and 20 and 60 minutes after exposure. The experiment showed that passive smoking greatly reduces the effect of substances that prevent platelets from sticking together, which can contribute to the development of atherosclerosis.

The woman herself did not smoke, but died at the age of 55 from lung cancer. The cause of the illness... the smoking of her co-workers.

She worked in a design office in Gothenburg, most of the time she was in a room with ten colleagues. Six of them smoked incessantly. According to experts, the woman was forced to breathe tobacco smoke for 20,000 hours.

The type of lung cancer that killed a woman occurs mainly in smokers. Passive smokers are at great risk of this disease.

And here's what else I want to emphasize: the well-being, the condition of the driver of the vehicle is by no means his personal business. After all, the safety of people and the safety of goods depend on it. So try to refrain from smoking, fellow drivers!

1.5 Put out your cigarette!

To wean from smoking, a person, first of all, must firmly decide once and for all to say goodbye to this bad habit. Otherwise, no medicine will help.

It is relatively easy for a smoker with little experience to give up tobacco, because dependence on nicotine is not very pronounced. There are drugs that reduce the craving for cigarettes.

It is recommended, in particular, to rinse your mouth with a solution of baking soda (a teaspoon per glass of water), infusion of oak bark, tannin, ink nuts (4-5 times a day). It is also useful to chew young shoots of bird cherry. Weaning from nicotine is facilitated by a dairy-vegetarian diet, prolonged exposure to air, physical education, breathing exercises. As practice shows, it is easier to quit smoking during the holidays.

Those who decide to say goodbye to a cigarette after many years of smoking, especially in old age, or suffering from diseases of the cardiovascular system, should resort to the help of a narcologist.

Medical statistics concluded that the vast majority of smokers are not strong-willed people. Yes, they understand that tobacco is harmful, they agree that it is necessary to quit smoking, but ...

To help them, Swiss engineers have created a programmable cigarette case. It opens, say, in the first week once an hour, then every hour and a half, and then, respectively, three or four hours later. At the same time, only one cigarette can be fished out of it. It is difficult to deceive a cigarette case. It is made in such a way that when you try to get an extra cigarette, the mechanism is "offended" and fails without any possibility of further repair.

Italian craftsmen offered their own tool - a gas lighter with a liquid crystal display and a logic block. The numbers on the scoreboard show the number of cigarettes smoked per day on a given withdrawal plan and beyond it. The daily rhythm of the smoker, that is, the time elapsed between two smoked cigarettes, is also reported. If this period is shorter than the programmed one, then the inscription appears on the display: "Do not rush!"

The Japanese, full of dark humor, offer a lighter for those who want to quit smoking. The built-in miniature device performs several measures of the mourning march each time it is lit. And one American firm built a sound device into an ashtray. When you put out a cigarette, pressing it to the bottom, you hear a strained cough with wheezing and gurgling - like a person whose bronchial tubes are sick from years of smoking.

Such gizmos, despite a certain amount of curiosity, still help people reduce the number of cigarettes they smoke. The rest depends on willpower.

The habit of smoking is strong, but a person is even stronger, and he will defeat it!

Conclusion

Smoking and drinking alcoholic beverages severely undermines human health. Everyone needs to understand and realize this as deeply as possible. No one should voluntarily destroy his body.

The opinion that "you can drink - you can't get drunk" has outlived its time. Sobriety is the norm. Its achievement is associated with the implementation of a complex of major socio-political, administrative, medical and other measures, the wide deployment of anti-alcohol propaganda.

The sale of tobacco products and alcoholic beverages should be carried out only by branded stores and stalls, and not by all retail outlets. It is necessary to ban the advertising of these products, and the sale of them to children and adolescents.

Physical culture, sports, classes in circles, libraries, the proper organization of free time, interesting and meaningful recreation - all this, of course, opposes the development of bad habits, and, above all, the habits of drinking alcohol and tobacco products. Idleness, idleness, sitting, on the contrary, the most fertile soil for its formation.

Statement healthy lifestyle life is an important national task. It is the duty of all people, every inhabitant of our country to contribute to its solution by all means.

References

1) G.I. Kutsenko, Yu. V. Novikov, "A book about a healthy lifestyle", Moscow, "PROFIZDAT" 1987.

2) Popular medical encyclopedia, Moscow, "Soviet encyclopedia" 1979.

3) Great Soviet Encyclopedia, Moscow, "Soviet Encyclopedia" 1971.

4) Z.A. Vasilyeva, S.M. Lyubinskaya, "Health reserves", Moscow, 1984.

A light legal drug is cigarettes. The real composition of the product that kills millions. History and modernity.

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Tobacco smoking(or simply smoking) - inhalation of smoke from smoldering dried or processed tobacco leaves, most often in the form of cigarette smoking. People smoke for pleasure, because of a bad habit, or for social reasons (to socialize, for “company”, “because everyone smokes”, etc.). In some societies, tobacco smoking is a ritual.

According to the WHO (World Health Organization), about one third of the adult male population of the world smoke tobacco. Tobacco smoking was brought to Spain by Columbus after the discovery of America and then spread to Europe and the rest of the world through trade.

Tobacco smoke contains psychoactive substances - nicotine and harmine alkaloids, which in combination are an addictive stimulant of the central nervous system, and also cause mild euphoria. The effects of nicotine exposure include the temporary relief of fatigue, drowsiness, lethargy, increased performance and memory.

Medical studies point to a clear link between tobacco smoking and diseases such as lung cancer and emphysema, diseases of the heart system, and other health problems. According to WHO, over the entire 20th century, tobacco smoking caused the death of 100 million people worldwide and in the 21st century this figure will increase to a billion.

Composition of cigarettes

pyrene- dissolves well in the blood, causes convulsions and spasm of the respiratory system, which reduces the level of hemoglobin, inhibits liver function. Of course, all this is in large doses, in small (cigarette) doses it just stretches over time and does not act so noticeably.

Anthracite- if you constantly breathe dust or vapors of this rubbish, swelling of the nasopharynx, eye sockets develops, fibromia diseases develop. Also a shitty thing, also not so noticeable.

Ethylphenol- lowers blood pressure, depresses the nervous system, disrupts motor activity. Well, kind of relaxing.

And finally our favorites - NITROBENZENE and NITROMETHANE.

If you inhale concentrated vapors of nitrobenzene - loss of consciousness and death. In small doses causes irreversible changes in the vascular system.

Nitromethane causes an accelerated pulse and weakening of attention (scattering), and in high concentrations - a narcotic state and irreversible pathological changes in the brain.

These are the lovely substances found in the average cigarette. Of course, there is also hydrocyanic acid (about 0.012 g, forty times less than the lethal dose), ammonia, pyridine bases, and a large number of substances with a total number of about four thousand items.

Harmful substances

Many smokers are comfortable with their bad habit. They are convinced that smoking does not cause much harm to the body, they are unaware of the harmful effects of smoking, or they try not to pay attention to it. As a rule, they do not know anything or have a very vague idea about the real consequences of smoking.

The serious harm that smoking causes to the human body is undeniable. Tobacco smoke contains more than 3,000 harmful substances. It is impossible to remember all of them. But you need to know the three main groups of toxins:

resins. They contain strong carcinogens and substances that irritate the tissues of the bronchi and lungs. Lung cancer in 85% of all cases is caused by smoking. Cancer of the oral cavity and larynx also mostly occurs in smokers. Tars are the cause of smokers' coughs and chronic bronchitis.

Nicotine. Nicotine is narcotic substance stimulating action. Like any drug, it is addictive, addictive and addictive. Increases heart rate and blood pressure. Following brain stimulation, there is a significant decline up to depression, which causes a desire to increase the dose of nicotine. A similar two-phase mechanism is inherent in all narcotic stimulants: first excite, then deplete. Complete smoking cessation may be accompanied by a withdrawal syndrome lasting more often up to 2-3 weeks. The most common symptoms of nicotine withdrawal are irritability, sleep disturbance, anxiety, decreased tone. All these symptoms do not pose a threat to health, they fade and disappear completely by themselves. Re-introduction of nicotine into the body after a long break quickly restores dependence (just like a new portion of alcohol causes a relapse of the disease in former alcoholics).

Toxic gases (carbon monoxide, hydrogen cyanide, nitric oxide, etc.) Carbon monoxide or carbon monoxide is the main toxic component of tobacco smoke gases. It damages hemoglobin, after which hemoglobin loses its ability to carry oxygen. Therefore, smokers suffer from chronic oxygen starvation, which is clearly manifested during physical exertion. For example, when climbing stairs or while jogging, smokers quickly develop shortness of breath. Carbon monoxide is colorless and odorless, therefore it is especially dangerous and often leads to fatal poisoning. Tobacco smoke contains 384,000 MPC of toxic substances, which is four times more than in the exhaust of a car. In other words, smoking a cigarette for one minute is about the same as breathing direct exhaust gases for four minutes. Hydrogen cyanide and nitric oxide also affect the lungs, exacerbating hypoxia (oxygen starvation) of the body.

Smoking contributes to atherosclerosis of blood vessels. The consequences of atherosclerosis are myocardial infarctions, strokes, premature aging. Immunity and endocrine system suffer. Many men earn impotence. Women become infertile or give birth to sick children. Due to narrowed sclerotic vessels, blood circulation is disturbed not only in internal organs but also in the arms and legs. In smokers, obliterating atherosclerosis of the lower extremities threatens with gangrene. At autopsy in malignant smokers, blood clots are often detected in various vessels.

You can get rid of a bad habit on your own or with medical help (for those who are already completely weak-willed).

If a person really wants to quit smoking, he may well do without medical care. All kinds of drugs, chewing gum, procedures, physiotherapy, reflexology, hypnosis, etc. by themselves are ineffective. Moreover, they can even interfere in some sense, especially if you place unreasonably high hopes on treatment and relieve yourself of responsibility for the result.

With a sharp cessation of smoking in some smokers, a temporary deterioration in well-being is possible. Transitional malaise is more common among those who remain ambivalent about smoking. And those who have made the final choice for themselves easily give up the bad habit, even if they have poisoned themselves with nicotine for decades before.

Advice to those who do not believe in themselves (who believe too) - start doing regular runs at least 3-4 times a week and at an even slow pace. Saturate your poisoned organism with oxygen and you will find that you can no longer stuff tobacco smoke into yourself, you will have an aversion to it. Those in need of psychological support will be helped by courses on getting rid of bad habits, of which there are quite a few in Moscow.

Nicotine

Surprisingly, why do millions of people smoke, despite the obvious damage to health? Once many of us start smoking, they are unable to stop. Why? Tobacco contains nicotine, a narcotic medicinal substance that makes you return to it again and again. Nicotine recruits us into its supporters quickly and reliably.

The main harm to health when smoking is not caused by nicotine, but by other 4000 chemicals contained in tobacco smoke. They are the cause of many diseases that we associate with smoking.

Scientists have been studying nicotine for decades and are finding more and more interesting properties in it. Apparently, nicotine really increases concentration, improves memory and helps control weight. On the other hand, nicotine has a very negative effect on fetal development during pregnancy and, in addition, a link has been established between nicotine and sudden death of infants during sleep.

Perhaps in the future, we can expect pharmaceutical companies to separate the positive and negative properties of nicotine and develop new drugs based on nicotine for the treatment of a wide range of diseases - from Alzheimer's disease to obesity.

Along with caffeine and strychnine, nicotine belongs to a group of chemical compounds called alkaloids. These are bitter-tasting and often poisonous substances produced by plants to prevent animals from eating them. Humans, being biologically somewhat perverted creatures, not only ignore this warning signal - a bitter taste, but even enjoy such taste sensations.

Most of the nicotine we get today comes from the Nicotiana tabacum plant, but there are 66 more plant species that contain nicotine. 19 of them grow in Australia. Apparently, the Australian Aborigines were the first people to use nicotine. They mixed crushed nicotine-containing plant leaves with ashes and chewed them. During long journeys through the desert, the natives used nicotine as both a stimulant and a remedy for hunger.

Nicotine owes its name to the French Ambassador to Portugal, Jean Nicot, who was one of the ardent supporters of nicotine as medicinal product. Tobacco was brought to Europe by the Spaniards and was first used for medicinal purposes. They were treated for wounds, rheumatism, asthma and toothache. In 1561, Jean Nicot sent tobacco seeds to the royal court in France. This plant was named Nicotiana in his honor. Subsequently, the alkaloid found in the 19th century in this plant was also called nicotine.

The popularity of tobacco grew very rapidly in both Europe and Asia, despite the fact that in China, Japan, Russia and Muslim countries severe penalties were provided for its use, up to cutting off the lips. The Roman Catholic Church did not ban tobacco, but excommunicated those who smoked in church. The clergy learned to circumvent this prohibition by inhaling tobacco ground into a powder - snuff. By the end of the 17th century, this method of taking nicotine had become very common among the aristocrats of Europe.

Nicotine has a very short life in our body, which is why smokers smoke so much. With a puff of cigarettes, nicotine enters the lungs, then into the bloodstream and into the brain, where it is captured by receptors on nerve cells. But after about 40 minutes, the amount of nicotine is halved, and the smoker feels the need for a new portion. Therefore, in a cigarette pack of 20 cigarettes, this is a day divided into 40-minute periods of nicotine intake.

If a smoker is engaged in training, a cigarette after physical exertion gives him special pleasure. Why? Because exercise speeds up the metabolism of nicotine and the level of nicotine in the brain drops faster than usual. This also explains the tradition of "cigarettes after sex", romance has nothing to do with it.

One cigarette can contain up to 1.2 milligrams of nicotine. If you enter this nicotine intravenously, then this amount is enough to kill seven adult men. However, when you smoke, you get a very dilute dose. Most of the nicotine in a cigarette disappears with the smoke. The tiny fraction that enters the lungs is diluted again in the bloodstream. As a result, the blood contains about 100 nanograms of nicotine per milliliter, which is 1 billionth of the nicotine content written on a cigarette pack. And by the time nicotine reaches the brain, its concentration drops to 40 nanograms. However, this is quite enough to satisfy most smokers.

Is the health risk reduced by smoking low nicotine cigarettes? At first glance it seems that yes. However, if a smoker smokes a "light" cigarette, he unconsciously takes deeper puffs to get the usual dose of nicotine. This is called compensatory smoking. As a result, he will probably smoke more cigarettes than usual, which means he will inhale more carbon monoxide, tar and other products of tobacco combustion. So it's entirely possible that "light" cigarettes are even more harmful than regular cigarettes.

Smoking pipes.

When we see a person smoking a pipe, what is the first thing that comes to mind? Personally, I mean that this is a wealthy person who has achieved almost everything he wanted in his life. People automatically classify such people as the elite. This is due to the fact that pipe smoking is not a cheap pleasure, and not everyone can afford it. A lot of people think that smoking a pipe is not the same as smoking a cigarette. Maybe I don't argue. So all the same, pipe smoking is just as dangerous as cigarette smoking, or is it just the speculation of supporters of a healthy lifestyle.

Pipe smoking has become a fashionable habit in our time, although it has been around for more than three thousand years. Now a little history.

Archaeologists and historians involved in the study of the Mayan civilizations and the Indians of Central America claim that the entire history of the pipe came from there. Here, tobacco was used both for medicinal purposes and in religious rituals (for example, inhaling tobacco smoke helps to communicate with the gods). In Europe, pipes appeared after the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus in 1492.

At first, in Russia, smoking a pipe in public was very severely punished. So the pipe makers were flogged, their nostrils pulled out and sent to Siberia, and those who were caught smoking again were cut off their heads. Impressive, right? But all the same, pipe smokers did not become less, but even vice versa. And the rulers had to make concessions. Pipes were made from various materials: stone, clay (in Europe - from clay and with small cups, because tobacco was too expensive), porcelain, beech, wild cherry, elm, walnut, ivory, marble and much more .

The first briar pipes, now the most famous and popular material for their manufacture, appeared in the first half of the 19th century in the south of France.

There are many types of tubes: bent and straight, long with a small cup and short nosewarmers, with various forms cups (round (prince), oval (lovet), cylindrical (stand-up poker)), faceted, etc.

Now let's talk about the harm that pipe smoking brings. There is an opinion that a cigarette cannot be compared with a pipe because:

1. a person no longer receives such pleasure;

Smoking a pipe causes less harm to health than cigarettes.

According to the results of research by American scientists from the National Institute of Oncology, it became known that the consequences of smoking for pipe lovers are practically no different from those for lovers of more “simple” types of tobacco products. The "tubifex" also often developed malignant tumors (esophagus, larynx, lungs), diseases of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems. These data were obtained after a survey of 138,000 smokers, of whom 15,265 people smoked pipes, not cigarettes.

For comparison between exclusive pipe smoking and malignant neoplasms of the upper digestive tract scientists from Italy used data from 1984 to 1999 using a case-control method. This method took into account age, education, body weight and alcohol consumption. As a result, they came to the following conclusions: compared with never smokers, those who smoked only a pipe are more likely to get sick were 8.7 times higher for all malignant neoplasms of the upper digestive tract. Pipe smokers are 12.6 times more likely to develop oral and pharyngeal cancer, and 7.2 times more likely to develop esophageal cancer. It has also been observed that those pipe smokers who consume a lot of alcohol have this risk increased up to 38.8 times. Thus, pipe smoking and excessive alcohol consumption multiply each other's harmful effects.

Pipe smoking was also found to be associated with a risk of death from 6 of 9 cancers: larynx, esophagus, nasopharynx, pancreas, lung, colon and rectum.

Now, before you light a pipe - think about it, do you need all this?

hookah smoking

The influence of tobacco smoke on the body of a smoker has been repeatedly considered from many positions. However, there have been no studies on the effects of smoke passing through a water filter, as in a hookah. This phenomenon has also been little studied from a sociological point of view. Indeed, from this point of view, we have to admit that for more than four centuries, every day, hookah has been coloring life and subordinating tens of millions of people to its rhythm, in public institutions or at home. The practice of hookah smoking has become a real mass phenomenon and continues to develop actively today.

Shisha tobacco comes in mainly three forms: The first is "tumbak", a regular tobacco (Nicotiana Rustica) containing a lot of nicotine, most used today in Iran. The smoker moistens it with water, squeezes it out and puts it tightly in the bowl of the hookah. The second type is "mu essel", tobacco soaked in molasses and flavored with various fruit shavings. The third form, "jurak", can be considered intermediate.

In a hookah, the smoke is cooled by passing through the water, cooling is accompanied by filtration. Smoke from a hookah, devoid of substances such as acrolein and aldehydes, unlike cigarette smoke, does not irritate the mucous membranes of the throat or nose of smokers and non-smokers who are close to the hookah. This fact partly explains the public fascination and widespread use of hookah tobacco smoking. The passage of smoke through water also reduces the amount of tar, tar and other substances of potentially carcinogenic nicotine. Initially, tobacco is distilled in a bowl from hot coals, then the smoke descends through the shaft, which is immersed in water, after this "washing" the smoke rises along the hose and enters the smoker's lungs through the mouthpiece.

Various scientific studies have shown that filtering tobacco smoke through water in a hookah reduces the content of: nicotine, up to 90% phenols, up to 50% fine particulate matter, benzo(a)pyrene, polycyclique aromatic hydrocarbons. There is a reduction in the carcinogenic potential of smoke that has crossed water compared to that that has not. Passing through the water, the smoke is cleared of acrolein (acroleine) and acetaldehyde (acetaldehyde), substances harmful to alveolar macrophages (macrophages), the main cells of the lung defense and important elements of the human immune system. Akram Chafei, in his research on the Egyptian hookah, notes that hookah smoking, like cigarette smoking, "...brings acute changes in lung function." While cigarette smoke affects the small airway endings of the bronchioles (bronchioles) involved in the pulmonary blood supply, hookah smoke "...has an immediate effect on the large airways."

But the most interesting recent research C. Macaron (C. Macaron). Her merit and the uniqueness of her research lies in the fact that she studied only hookah smokers. Thus, mixed cigarette and hookah smokers and former cigarette smokers were separated. Blood levels of cotinine are higher in hookah smokers than in cigarette smokers. The author believes that if it is likely that the smoke, passing through the water, loses the concentration of some of its components, then other elements probably remain unchanged. On this basis, the researchers believe that the "cleansing" effect of water on smoke is cancelled. Meanwhile, we note that casual hookah smokers, and they represent the majority of hookah lovers, do not have tobacco or nicotine addiction. They almost never smoke cigarettes, because they are primarily looking for new aromas, tastes, environments, like some coffee lovers. In addition, often, such smokers simply follow the fashion or want to appear "cool". They savor the hookah at the level of taste buds, without feeling the need to inhale the smoke. If there is an addiction among them, then it is most likely a behavioral or social addiction.

With help special apparatus Smokelyzer has measured alveolar CO levels in various types of smokers. The findings coincided with the results cited above; hookah smokers were found to have elevated level carbon monoxide. This gas is formed during any slow or incomplete combustion process, as happens with tobacco in a waterpipe. The level of carbon monoxide ranges from 10 ppm to 60 ppm, depending on the individual and the degree of ventilation of the room - in an unventilated room, the CO content is increased - up to 28%. It is this gas that causes an increase in heart rate.

As for the slight intoxication observed in smokers after smoking hookah, it is not caused by any opiates, moreover, not contained in hookah tobacco, but is due to the action of the same carbon monoxide.

Finally, an avid hookah smoker explains that he cannot stop smoking hookah for more than two days. This period is not associated with the half-life of nicotine, which occurs approximately 2 hours after smoking, but with cotinine, whose half-life ranges between 15 and 20 hours. With all the abundance, today there is no coherent hypothesis about the nature of such dependence.

Ministries of health should now focus their efforts on the development of hookah products that reduce the content of carbon monoxide in cigarette smoke, these can be alternative sources of heating, such as electric, replacing coal combustion or special filters.

Teen smoking

Teenagers are not aware of the dangers of smoking because they are constantly watching their elders doing it at ease. Another culprit that drives young people to smoke is peer pressure. However, sometimes, smoking is the result of some sort of act of outright defiance, or simply the result of curiosity. If you have suspicions that your teenager has started smoking, and if they are justified, then pay attention to this and educate your child about the dangers of smoking.

Smoking and its associated danger to life.

Every year, millions of people die from smoking-related diseases worldwide. And that number is likely to rise as more young people get into this deadly habit.

The smallest smoker is a seven-year-old boy who makes a living looking for recyclable waste.

This scenario is typical for third world countries and is only the tip of the iceberg. Smoking is gradually taking away young lives, but brings billions of dollars in taxes to states. Thus, the problem is still unresolved, like the dire forecasts of upcoming global warming that most choose to ignore.

Long-term smoking leads to several types of cancer. Due to the early onset and longer exposure to the poison, young adults are at increased risk. And quitting smoking is just as hard as quitting heroin. There are now support groups to help people get out of the hole and start living a healthy life. But this is easier said than done. Smoking is not prohibited by law and young children caught with a cigarette are not punished for it. Therefore, the vicious circle continues. If you are a parent and you find that your teenager is smoking, then you need to take immediate action to help your child kick the habit.

How to help your child quit smoking

The confused mother said she caught her son and daughter smoking in the room. The smell of cigarette smoke in the room helped solve the mystery. Empty cigarette packs and cigarette butts were found in the trash can. In alarm, the mother reported the incident to her husband, also a non-smoker. In order to wean children from smoking, parents enrolled them in a rehabilitation and support program.

If you can't catch kids smoking at home, try to find out who they hang out with and where they hang out after school. Someone will definitely tell you if your teen's friends smoke.

Asking a son or daughter not to go out with their smoking friends will not give you encouraging results. Instead, invite their friends over to your home and show them videos, videos or the Internet (eg www.youtube.com) that detail the irreversible effects of smoking on the human body. Give them books about the effects of smoking, or invite the doctor to a class at the children's school or parent-teacher meeting to discuss the dangers of smoking. Mobilize parents and ask school leaders and faculty to start a war on smoking. There should be no smoking areas or non-smoking areas in the school. Instead, smoking should be banned entirely. In response to protests, you can always explain that sometimes parents and teachers have to be harsh to be kind. Smoking is deadly, and in this case there should be no place for euphemism.

Be relentless in your efforts to wage war on teen smoking. Teenagers who smoke will become adult smokers and suffer the consequences of smoking in the future. Instead of waiting for trouble to hit you, start your campaign today. If you love your children, make a firm decision. Someday, your children will thank you for your perseverance and effort to help them get rid of this deadly and terrible habit.

Passive smoking

Smokers know that their addiction is hurting them, but they assume that their smoking will only hurt themselves. However, during recent years Increasingly, there is evidence that passive smoking contributes to the development of diseases in non-smokers, characteristic of smokers.

When tobacco is burned, main and additional smoke flows are formed. The main stream is formed during the puff of smoke, passes through the entire tobacco product, is inhaled and exhaled by the smoker. An additional flow is formed by exhaled smoke, and is also released between puffs into the environment from the charred part of the cigarette (cigarettes, pipes, etc.). More than 90% of the main flow consists of 350-500 gaseous components, of which carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide are especially harmful. The rest of the main flow are solid microparticles, including various toxic compounds. The content of some of them in the smoke of one cigarette is as follows: carbon monoxide - 10-23 mg, ammonia - 50-130 mg, phenol - 60-100 mg, acetone - 100-250 mcg, nitric oxide - 500-600 mcg, hydrogen cyanide - 400-500 mcg, radioactive polonium - 0.03-1. 0 nK. The main stream of tobacco smoke is formed by 35% of the burning cigarette, 50% goes into the surrounding air, making up an additional stream, from 5 to 15% of the components of the burnt cigarette remains on the filter. The additional stream contains 4-5 times more carbon monoxide, 50 times more nicotine and tar, and 45 times more ammonia than the main one! Thus, paradoxically, many times more toxic components enter the atmosphere surrounding the smoker than the body of the smoker himself. It is this circumstance that causes a special danger of passive or "forced" smoking for others. When tobacco smoke is inhaled, radioactive particles settle deep in the lungs, are carried by the bloodstream throughout the body, settling in the tissues of the liver, pancreas, lymph nodes, bone marrow, etc.

The silent victims of passive smoking are children!

Children who share a room with smoking parents are twice as likely to have respiratory illnesses compared to children whose parents smoke in a separate room or children whose parents do not smoke. In such children, especially in the first year of life, bronchitis, nocturnal coughs, and pneumonia are more often recorded. Studies conducted in Germany show the relationship between passive smoking and childhood asthma. The impact on the respiratory system of a child of passive smoking does not exhaust its momentary toxic effect on the body: even after growing up, there is a difference in the indicators of mental and physical development in groups of children from families of smokers and non-smokers. If a child lives in an apartment where one of the family members smokes 1-2 packs of cigarettes, then the amount of nicotine in the urine corresponding to 2-3 cigarettes is found in the child!

The WHO Committee of International Experts also concluded that maternal smoking (“passive fetal smoking”) is the cause of sudden infant death syndrome in 30-50% of cases.

Passive smoking can lead to blindness

Passive smoking increases the likelihood of a person becoming blind. According to the British Journal of Ophthalmology, scientists from the University of Cambridge studied the effects of smoking on senile macular degeneration (SDM) and concluded that living with a smoker for five years doubles the risk of this disease, and regular active smoking triples.

Early studies have shown that smoking increases the likelihood of vision problems. However, the work of the Cambridge experts provides the clearest evidence that passive smoking has a similar effect. SDM usually develops in people who have crossed the 50-year mark. It affects the central part of the retina, which is extremely important for reading or driving. As a result, only peripheral vision remains active in a person. SDM does not always lead to blindness.

In the UK today there are about 500,000 people suffering from this disease.

The study followed 435 patients with SDM and 280 without it. Scientists have noticed that the more a person smokes, the more likely they and their partners are to develop SDM. A person who smokes a pack a day or more for 40 years almost triples this risk. And to double it, it is enough just to live with a smoker for five years.

Women who smoke men find it harder to get pregnant

The results of a survey of pregnant women in women's consultations Kiev cities showed a clear effect of smoking by both parents on the likelihood of pregnancy. In particular, a man's smoking reduced the likelihood of pregnancy occurring and developing: the likelihood that pregnancy would not occur during the first year of the absence of contraception increased by almost two times. A weak but highly significant relationship was found between the number of cigarettes smoked by a man per day and the duration of sexual life before conception. Each subsequent cigarette smoked per day by a man reduced the probability of conceiving a child during the first year by an average of 1.05 times. The above study shows that the problem is not that pregnancy does not occur, but that it is interrupted when future parents are not even aware of it.

Passive smoking increases the risk of breast cancer

Research by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare found that the proportion of non-smoking women who develop breast cancer is 2.6 times higher if they are forced to inhale tobacco smoke at work or at home. This risk is especially high in women before the onset of menopause, which, apparently, is due to higher concentrations of female sex hormones involved in breast tumorigenesis. And the exclusion of both passive and active smoking is a measure for the prevention of breast cancer.

Passive smoking increases the risk of heart disease

According to a recent study, exposure to tobacco smoke at work resulted in the death of about 250 people in Finland in 1996. The study, conducted by the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, examined statistics on causes of death, exposure to tobacco smoke at work, and information about the risk of various diseases. In the latest issue of the Finnish Medical Journal, Dr. Markku Nurminen writes that the biggest killer among diseases caused by secondhand smoke has been coronary heart disease. The number of such deaths exceeds 100. The rather high risk caused by exposure to tobacco smoke is due to the fact that the most hazardous substances in second-hand smoke are in the gas phase, while the main risk factors in the smoke that smokers themselves inhale are contained in weighted phase. In the form of a gas, substances pass deeper into the lungs than particulate smoke, and therefore it is more difficult for the body to get rid of them.

Passive smoking and the brain

Inhalation of tobacco smoke causes disturbances in the activity of the brain, since the nervous system is most sensitive to tobacco poisons, which leads to severe diseases of the central nervous system. According to some studies, circulatory disorders in the brain caused by exposure to tobacco smoke in 1996 caused the death of almost 80 people. Exposure to second-hand smoke increases the risk of brain circulatory problems by 1.8 times.

Consequences of smoking

1. Brain -> Stroke

A stroke occurs when a blood vessel that delivers oxygen to the brain becomes blocked by a clot or other particles. Thrombosis of cerebral vessels is the most common cause stroke. Thrombosis means the formation of a blood clot and a violation of the blood supply to the brain. Another type of stroke occurs when a diseased artery in the brain (such as an aneurysm) ruptures. This phenomenon is called cerebral hemorrhage.

2. Heart -> Heart disease

Smoking is the main cause of damage to the coronary arteries, which can lead to myocardial infarction. Smokers have an increased risk of atherosclerosis (blockage of the arteries) and other changes that affect the cardiovascular system. Smoking alone increases the risk of coronary artery disease, and when combined with other factors, these diseases become even more likely. Nicotine and carbon monoxide contained in tobacco smoke disrupt the supply of oxygen to the blood and cause damage to the heart and blood vessels through various mechanisms.

3. Lungs -> Lung Cancer

Approximately 85% of lung cancers occurring per year can be associated with smoking. People who smoke two or more packs of cigarettes a day for 20 years have a 60-70% increased risk of lung cancer compared to non-smokers. The risk of lung cancer is higher the more cigarettes smoked per day, the longer they smoke, the greater the amount of smoke inhaled, and the higher the tar and nicotine content of cigarettes.

An x-ray image shows an abnormal mass in the lung (arrow). A biopsy later proved it to be lung cancer. Characteristic symptoms: persistent agonizing cough, hemoptysis, repeated pneumonia, bronchitis or chest pain.

4. COPD -> Chronic bronchitis

COPD is a chronic lung disease characterized by progressive narrowing and destruction of the bronchial tree and pulmonary alveoli.

Although the main cause of COPD is smoking, other factors play a role - long-term inhalation of smoke, dust and chemicals, as well as frequent lung infections in childhood. Some people are at increased risk for COPD due to genetic reasons. These individuals have a genetic defect called alpha1-antitrypsin deficiency. COPD includes two main diseases - chronic bronchitis and emphysema. Most patients with COPD have a combination of both diseases.

Chronic bronchitis is manifested by a cough with sputum that occurs in winter for 2 years in a row. In some patients, cough with sputum is the only symptom, while others complain of shortness of breath or shortness of breath. If you are coughing or producing phlegm, see your doctor to have your lungs checked.

Emphysema refers to the pathology of the alveoli, when the tissue around the alveoli changes, they become enlarged and look like holes in the lungs on an x-ray (similar to Swiss cheese). The main symptom is shortness of breath. There is a cough, but less pronounced than with chronic bronchitis. The chest becomes barrel-shaped.

5. Stomach -> Cancer and stomach ulcer

The effect of prolonged smoking is to stimulate the secretion of hydrochloric acid in the stomach, which corrodes the protective layer in its cavity. Aching or burning pain between the sternum and the navel is the most common symptom that occurs after eating and early in the morning. Pain can last from a few minutes to several hours; Sometimes the pain is relieved by food or antacids. Smoking slows down the healing of ulcers and promotes their recurrence.

Typical symptoms:

- aching or burning pain in the abdomen, nausea and vomiting, loss of appetite and weight loss.

In the early stages, stomach cancer usually does not show up. It is known that stomach cancer can occur against the background of an ulcer, and smokers have a higher risk.

6. Fetus -> Risk Factors

In women, smoking significantly increases the risk of chronic diseases, including pulmonary complications, and premature death. According to studies, smoking significantly increases the risk of heart disease in premenopausal women, especially when taking birth control pills. Studies have shown that women who regularly smoke one pack of cigarettes a day or more during pregnancy have babies weighing less than non-smoking mothers. Carbon monoxide, inhaled as part of tobacco smoke, enters the blood of the fetus and reduces the absorption of oxygen, leading to severe oxygen starvation. Other effects of smoking include reduced blood flow, which interferes with the transport of vital nutrients from mother to fetus.

Underweight newborns are generally weaker and more prone to disease than those of average weight. Women who smoke are more likely to end up in preterm labor, miscarriage, or stillbirth. Also, studies do not rule out that children born to mothers who smoked during and after pregnancy are more likely to have sudden infant death syndrome.

7. Bladder -> Cancer Bladder

Bladder cancer occurs mainly in smokers over 40 years of age. In men, the risk is 4 times higher than in women. The most common early symptom is blood in the urine without pain or discomfort.

Typical symptoms:

- blood in the urine;
- pain in the pelvic area;
- difficult urination.

8. Larynx -> Cancer of the esophagus

Smoking can cause esophageal cancer by damaging cells located inside the organ. The longer a person smokes, the higher the risk.

Typical symptoms:

- difficulty swallowing;
- chest pain or discomfort;
- weight loss.

9. Tongue -> Oral Cancer

Oral cancer is most common in smokers and heavy drinkers. In most cases, the tumor occurs on the sides or on the lower surface of the tongue, as well as in the floor of the mouth.

Typical symptoms:

- a small, pale swelling or thickening of an unusual color on the tongue, mouth, cheek, gums, or palate.

10. Uterus -> Malignant tumors

Smoking exposes the entire body to various carcinogenic chemicals. For example, in women who smoke, derivatives of tobacco components are found in the mucus of the cervix. According to scientists, these substances damage the cells of the cervix and probably increase the risk of cancer.

Only the facts

1. In Russia, 70.5% of men smoke, and among high school students in large cities, 30-47% of boys and 25-32% of girls cannot do without cigarettes. Every year 25 billion cigarettes are smoked in Russia.
2. Men and women smoke for different reasons. This was established during the experiment by a Californian scientist. Each participant in the experiment was asked to carefully record the mood that prevailed at the moment when he took up a cigarette. It turned out that men, for the most part, smoke when they are irritated or angry with something. Women reach for a cigarette when they feel emotionally uplifted or enjoy it. True, both use smoking as a means to alleviate sadness or depression.
3. A museum of tobacco appeared in Russia. Its exhibits are many types of pipes, mouthpieces, different varieties tobacco. Its creator is Vladimir Yablokov, a well-known collector of cigarettes and cigarettes in his circle. He opened the museum right in his house in the city of Kachkanar. Now Vladimir Yablokov is planning to create a club at the museum, where he plans to wean the current generation of young people from the addiction to smoking.
4. The Omsk "Institute of Medical, Social and Legal Initiatives" under the leadership of Igor Baturin believes that the promotion of cigarettes, deployed in the most crowded places, subsequently negatively affects the health of children and adolescents. If the Omsk Antimonopoly Committee proves Baturin right, the customer of tobacco advertising, Philip Morris, will be fined 200 minimum wages.
5. Last summer, Nicorette became the first anti-tobacco drug to be approved for OTC use in Japan. Nicorette chewing gum has been approved by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. According to a report by the Minister of Health of Japan in 1999, 52.7% of men and a percentage of women smoke, the percentages are increasing, and lung cancer has long overtaken gastric cancer in mortality in the rankings. Nicorette is the number one smoking cessation drug in the world, available in 60 countries. Pharmacia has developed and marketed a range of nicotine replacement therapy products - chewing gum, patch, inhaler, aerosol and tablet. In 2000, Nicorette's sales exceeded one million.
6. China has 20% of the world's population and 25% of all smokers. More cigarettes are produced here than in any other country. According to scientists, by 2025 more than two million Chinese will die from diseases caused by cigarettes.
7. In Zimbabwe, one third of all farmers and 12% of all workers are employed in the tobacco industry.
8. In 1988 Philip Morris paid $350,000 to have their cigarettes featured in the new James Bond series License to Kill.
9. In 1979, Philip Morris paid $42,500 to have Marlboros appear in Superman II, and fellow cigarette manufacturer Ligget paid $30,000 to have their cigarettes appear in Supergirl. By the way, these films have a huge children's audience ...
10. It is established that children smoke the most advertised cigarette brands.
11. 49.7% of Australian Aborigines smoke.
12. Ottawa is a non-smoking city. By decision of the authorities, since September 1, 2001, smoking has been banned in all public places, hospitals in the premises of state bodies, in restaurants, as well as bars and private clubs. The designation of special smoking areas is also excluded. Law enforcement officers will monitor the implementation of the ban. Fine violators began on 4 September. The first violation costs approximately CAD 250, subsequent violations cost up to CAD 5,000.
13. The new law is supported by public organizations, doctors and trade unions. All of them not only care about the health of their fellow citizens, but also fight against social extravagance: the spread of smoking leads to an increase in diseases, which results in high hospital costs, as well as possible lawsuits against firms that did not warn their employees about the dangers of smoking in the workplace.
14. In Europe and the US, the persecution of smokers is also steadily increasing. The United States is preparing a tough new bill to ban smoking in almost all public places. The current law, passed in 1995, prohibits smoking in restaurants with more than 35 seats, in office buildings and even in private offices with more than three employees. If the new law is adopted, smoking will be allowed only in specialized bars and nightclubs. There are states where laws against smoking are especially severe. In California, for example, smoking is prohibited in all public places without exception.
15. Vitamin C is dangerous for smokers. This was found out by Australian scientists. The thing is that while smoking, among other muck, the heavy metal cadmium penetrates the body, in combination with which harmless vitamin C can provoke the appearance of cancer cells. Cadmium is practically not excreted from the body, therefore, as scientists warn, it is not recommended to abuse vitamin C (that is, consume more than 0.25 g per day) even if you quit smoking several years ago.
16. Aeroflot will tighten restrictions on smoking in aircraft. This is noted in his interviews by the company's CEO Valery Okulov. According to him, a survey of passengers shows that those who choose Aeroflot aircraft would prefer non-smoking flights.
17. In Singapore, smoking is strictly prohibited in public transport, taxis, elevators, (cinema) theaters, public places, air-conditioned restaurants and shopping malls.
18. In Los Angeles, on Santa Monica Boulevard, there is a scoreboard counting the number of deaths from cigarette addiction. The countdown starts on January 1st and ends on December 31st of each year. The figure that manages to "run" is impressive ...
19. In his dying interview, a Hollywood star, a talented Jew from Vladivostok, Yul Brynner, conjured "never smoke"! The cigarette has helped many artists die: Louis Armstrong and Leonard Bernstein, Humphrey Bogart and Richard Boone, Walt Disney and Vincent Price, Steve McQueen and John Huston, Clark Gable and John Wayne, Gary Cooper and Betty Grable, Buster Keaton and Nat "King" Cole, Bing Crosby and Robert Taylor...
20. According to Interfax, an American tried for many years to quit smoking, and, in despair, he cut off his right hand, with which he brought a cigarette to his mouth. The act is meaningless - after all, a cigarette can be held in the left, and the passion for smoking is certainly not in the hand, but in the head. Fortunately, the doctors managed to sew the hand back to the sufferer.