Noted health experts have
said that tobacco contains 43 carcinogenic chemicals,
and consumption of tobacco causes several
health issues like hair loss, stroke, memory loss,
insomnia, cataract, skin diseases, mouth and tongue
cancer, bone degeneration, impotency, miscarriage,
as well as poor health in babies.
Several health experts took part in an event with
the theme Tobacco and Heart Diseases held on
the occasion of World No
Tobacco Day on May 31. It
was organised by the District
Tobacco Control Cell,
Sonitpur, in association with
the District Legal Services
Authority at the District
Library here.
Addressing the gathering,
Dr DC Saikia, nodal officer
at the District Tobacco
Control Cell said, Tobacco
causes about 55 diseases
from head to toe, including transient ischemic
attack, macular degeneration, nail discoloration,
psoriasis, pustakosis, osteoporosis, sterility, foetal
growth retardation, birth defects, sudden infant
death syndrome etc.
Smoking is also a major cause of cardiovascular
disease (CVD) and causes one of every three deaths
from CVD. Smoking can raise triglycerides in blood
and lower good cholesterol (HDL), make blood
sticky and more likely to clot, which can block blood
flow to the heart and brain, he said.
Contrary to public perception, smokingcaused
heart disease results in more deaths per year than
smoking-caused lung cancer, Dr Saikia said, adding
that 30 per cent of all heart disease deaths are caused
by cigarette smoking.
Dr Saikia also said tobacco contains high levels
of carbon monoxide, which affects the heart by reducing the amount of oxygen. This means
that the heart, lungs, brain, and other organs do
not always receive enough oxygen. At the same
time, nicotine causes an increase in heart rate
and blood pressure. Over time, this causes extraordinary
wear-and-tear on the cardiovascular
endothelium.
He said quitting smoking helps in reducing risks
of CVD in people who have been smoking for long.
People who quit smoking dramatically reduced their
risk of dying from heart disease. The body begins
to repair itself almost immediately.
Dr Saikia said tobacco
products must be sold, supplied
or distributed in a
package that contains an appropriate
pictorial warning.
Mridu Chanda Bordoloi,
secretary of the District
Legal Services Authority,
said that as per law, tobacco
products cannot be sold to a
person below the age of 18,
and in places within a 100-metre radius of any educational
institution.
Advocate Nayan Moni Goswami said the young
generation should be more conscious about the hazards
of tobacco.
Dr Krishna Sarmah, president of the Tezpur
Mahila Samiti, appealed to the public to quit tobacco
and make Sonitpur tobacco-free. Kishan
Kumar Sharma, Additional Deputy Commissioner
(Health), Sonitpur, who presided over the function,
spoke about the need to make a tobaccofree
society.
A street play, Jibonok Adorok Dhopatok Nohoi, written
by Chiranjib Choudhuri, was also presented by
members of the Tezpur District Mahila Samiti.
Earlier, an awareness rally was organised across
the town, in which students of several schools of
Tezpur and members of many NGOs took part. - Assam Tribune
Post a Comment