The Tobacco Health Toll

Autor: World Health Organization, Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean
Rok vydání: 2005
Předmět:
women and smoking and general health
tobacco and skeletal health
smoking and immune system
smoking and sleep
smoking and pregnancy
The Tobacco Health Toll
tobacco effects on major blood vellels
tobacco and oral and dental health
environmental tobacco smoke
smoking and surgical outcomes
smoking and diabetes
smoking and venous thrombosis
tobacco
smoking and autoimmune disorders
systemic lupis erythematosus
smoking and children's health
smoking and tuberculosis
tobacco prevention and cessation
smoking and lactation
smoking and the senses
tobacco psychological effects
tobacco effects on the heart
smoking and general health
Tobacco effects on the lungs
tobacco and cancer
tobacco and osteoperosis
tobacco and digestive system
smoking and infant child development
tobacco and peripheral blood vessels
smoking and oral contraceptives
The Tobacco Health Toll
tobacco
cigarettes
tobacco effect on the body
tobacco psychological effects
Tobacco effects on the lungs
tobacco effects on the heart
tobacco effects on major blood vellels
tobacco and peripheral blood vessels
tobacco and nervous system
tobacco and osteoperosis
tobacco and skeletal health
tobacco and male reproductive health
tobacco and digestive system
tobacco and cancer
tobacco and oral and dental health
tobacco and skin and hair
smoking and the senses
smoking and surgical outcomes
smoking and general health
smoking and immune system
smoking and diabetes
smoking and tuberculosis
smoking and autoimmune disorders
systemic lupis erythematosus
smoking and venous thrombosis
smoking and sleep
women and smoking
women and smoking and general health
female reproductive health
smoking and oral contraceptives
smoking and pregnancy
smoking and lactation
smoking and infant child development
smoking and children's health
environmental tobacco smoke
tobacco prevention and cessation

tobacco and nervous system
tobacco and male reproductive health
tobacco effect on the body
tobacco and skin and hair
female reproductive health
cigarettes
women and smoking
Zdroj: World Health Organization, Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean. (2005). The Tobacco Health Toll. Tobacco Control. UC San Francisco: Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education. Retrieved from: http://www.escholarship.org/uc/item/0kk3c5c6
Popis: Introduction With the increasing realization of the devastating effects tobacco use has, and the heavy toll it exacts on the health of individuals, the health of the young, the wellbeing of families and societies, and the economies of countries, the need for a clear, comprehensive document covering the full range of the negative effects tobacco and its use has on human health was apparent. This publication sums up and simplifies the answers to the questions that the public, individuals and special groups have, and is intended to fill the wide but often underestimated gap in the public’s knowledge concerning the vast spectrum of tobacco-related health hazards. It is expected therefore, that this publication will be of interest to people from all walks of life, including school and university students, physicians and nurses, as well as the public in general. Tobacco and tobacco smoke contain thousands of chemicals. Many of these chemicals are well known to be toxic, carcinogenic, atherogenic, teratogenic and addictive; many have no known safe level of exposure. The chemicals found in tobacco and tobacco smoke include nicotine, tar, carbon monoxide, acetaldehyde, hydrogen cyanides, arsenic, chromium, DDT, formaldehyde, benzene, N-nitrosamines, cadmium, nickel, beryllium and vinyl chloride. Globally, one person dies from tobacco use every 6.5 seconds; tobacco kills around 5 million smokers each year, or the equivalent of 13 699 people per day. This is in addition to the suffering caused through tobacco-related diseases and the burden of disease on individuals, families and society as a whole. Studies have shown that people who start smoking in their teens (as more than 70% do), and continue to do so for two decades or more will die 20–25 years earlier than those who have never smoked, thus losing some of the most productive years of their lives. Lung cancer and heart disease are two of the most common health problems encountered by smokers, but the general public is largely unaware that there are a wide range of other diseases and ill-effects associated with tobacco use which are not as widely publicized. This publication lists the range of diseases and illnesses caused through smoking, and shows how the harmful effects of smoking can damage nearly every organ and system in the human body. Women and smoking deserve special attention as a result of the negative and serious health impacts on smoking women and their offspring, in addition to particular health concerns related to the use of contraceptives and women’s frequent involuntary exposure to environmental tobacco smoke. Children, who represent the building blocks of the future, are a large and significant segment of the population who are involuntarily exposed to the harm that tobacco can cause. Society needs to acknowledge the harm that environmental tobacco smoke exposure causes to the health of children and exert efforts to protect them from exposure to this smoke. The importance of cessation and reduced exposure to tobacco smoke cannot be overemphasized. Adults need to abstain from tobacco use, not only to protect themselves, but to protect the young and future generations from falling prey to deadly tobacco-related diseases. It is also important to raise public awareness of the fact that modifications made to the shape, intensity and flavour of tobacco products is just the tobacco industry’s way of masking the truth about the deadly effects of tobacco use. The issue of environmental tobacco smoke has been an arena of intense struggle between health advocates and the tobacco industry as it affects smokers and non-smokers alike, but also because it addresses more directly the question of choice when faced with the health hazards caused through tobacco. This issue has the greatest potential to shape the outcome of tobacco control efforts.
Databáze: OpenAIRE