Are you one of 110 million Indians who smoke?

While the US is upbeat at reducing number of tobacco users, there has been an alarming growth in the number of daily smokers globally, including in India. More people are smoking in India now, 110 mi

By: Editorial Team | | Published: January 9, 2014 11:37 am

While the US is upbeat at reducing number of tobacco users, there has been an alarming growth in the number of daily smokers globally, including in India. More people are smoking in India now, 110 million, compared to just 74.5 million smokers over three decades back. Also Read - 'Casual' smokers may also have nicotine addiction: Home remedies to help you quit smoking

Also Read - Can vaping lead to smoking in teenagers? Here's what you need to know

Why is this news significant? Also Read - Smoking cigarettes can worsen ‘severity of COVID-19 infection’

This is definitely cause for alarm as even after so many awareness campaigns, smoking is still very much a menace. What is causing this rise in numbers is a cause for concern. Is it peer pressure? Is it the stress?

The fact is that by being one of these 110 million who smoke, you are not only harming yourself but also harming the health of your loved ones because of passive smoking.

Smoking is related to several ills like cancer, erectile dysfunction, heart disease and more. It’s time you quit!

Where was the research conducted and published?

The study was published in the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA).

What has been found?

According to the study, the number of daily smokers has increased from 721 million in 1980 to 967 million in 2012 contributing to a 26 percent hike in number of cigarettes consumed worldwide.

While the number of male daily smokers globally has gone up by a whopping 41 percent during the 32-year period, the corresponding growth for female smokers is 7 percent, it claimed.

In India there were 12.1 million women smokers in 2012, compared to just 5.3 million in 1980.

Between 1980 and 2012, smoking prevalence among Indian men decreased from 33.8 per cent to 23 per cent.

How can one quit smoking?

So here are some of the smoking cessation techniques:

Cold Turkey The oldest and most successful method is going ‘cold turkey’ that is quitting smoking without taking any substitute for nicotine. 75% people who’ve quit smoking claim to have done so without the aid of any aid or supplement. Coupled with therapy and intervention cold turkey is supposed to be the best way to quit. There are various websites and helplines which help people quit without the aid of any medicines. Most replacement therapies look to chemically substitute the nicotine hit of smoking but it just means switching from one addiction to another. One of the champions of cold turkey was Allen Carr, a chain smoker who quit smoking and went on to write a book entitled The Easy Way to Quit Smoking which is the most popular book on quitting smoking in the world. Many people have quit smoking after reading his book and this list include celebrities like Ashton Kutcher, Britney Spears, Richard Branson, Anthony Hopkins and closer home Mahesh Babu and Hrithik Roshan. Allen Carr’s basic principle was despite overwhelming evidence which points out the hazards of smoking people don’t quit because they think of quitting as ‘giving in’ or giving up.

Nicotine Replacement Therapies (NRT) NRT looks to take care of nicotine craving by providing a substitute source without the harmful effects of tobacco. It works on the principle that though nicotine is the ‘addictive’ part of cigarettes the more dangerous ones are tar, carbon monoxide and other gases. There are various products under this Nicorette umbrella which look to aid cessation including chewing gums, lozenges, nasal sprays, patches and inhalers. Some electronic cigarettes also have nicotine filters. Real world studies have shown that NRT’s aren’t as effective as pharmaceutical companies claim. In the real world, 95% who have taken OTC medication have relapsed. (Read: Different ways to quit smoking)

With inputs from IANS

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Published : January 9, 2014 11:37 am

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