Joseph R. Anticaglia MD
Medical Advisory Board
Smoking is the leading cause of preventable deaths in the United States. According to Center for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC, “Cigarette smoking is responsible for more than 480,000 premature deaths per year in the United States, including more than 41,000 deaths resulting from second hand smoke exposure. This is about 1,300 every day.”
The CDC’s successful annual advertising campaign — Tips From Former Smokers — has once again used the airwaves, print media and billboards to publicize information about the health hazards due to smoking.
The campaign’s goals are to:
- Build public awareness of the harmful effects of smoking and second hand smoke
- Encourage smokers to quit and make free help available
- Encourage smokers not to smoke around others
Consider the experience of Shawn, Fig. 1
Fig.1 Courtesy CDC “Be careful not to cut the stoma” — the hole in the neck
Shawn stole cigarettes from his father when he was a 14 y/o teenager and became addicted to cigarettes for the next 30 years. When he was in his mid-forties, a chronic cough and laryngitis turned out to be cancer of the voice box (larynx). It was necessary to remove the larynx to save his life. Now he’s dealing problems associated with a stoma, the opening in the neck that allows him to breathe.
A few tips, “While showering, don’t face shower head.” “Don’t use spray paint.” “Crouch, don’t bend over.” Suction the area or tracheostomy tube before eating.”
What follows is part of Bill’s story, Fig. 2
Fig.2 Courtesy CDC Smoking makes diabetes worse…
When Bill was 15 he started smoking. He had diabetes and learned the hard way that smoking makes diabetes worse. At 37, Bill went blind in his left eye and two years later had the left leg amputated because of poor circulation. “I lost my leg and that’s when I quit. Smoking is a nasty addiction. It’s not cool. Don’t ever get started,” he said.
Highlights
- Smoking leads to cancer, disease and disability and harms nearly every organ of the body.
- Smoking is the leading cause of preventable deaths
- Tobacco industry spends billions of dollars each year on advertising and promotions. In 2014, it spent over 9 billion or nearly 25 million dollars per day.
- Smoking costs the United States more than 300 billion dollars each year
- State spending on tobacco prevention and control does not meet CDC’s recommendations.
- 15.1% of all adults18 years of age or older are smokers in the U.S.
- Thousands of young people start smoking every day.
- Each day an estimated 2,100 youth and young adults who were occasional smokers become daily cigarette smokers.
- Smoking during pregnancy increases the probability of giving birth to premature infants
- Smoking can cause gum disease and tooth loss
Becky’s story, Fig.3
Fig. 3 Courtesy CDC Smoking caused COPD and ruined her lungs. Notice the nasal cannula and need for oxygen.
Becky started smoking in high school and heavily for about 30 years. At the age of 45 she was diagnosed with COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease). This is a miserable lung disease that interferes with normal breathing. It eventually becomes harder and harder to breathe necessitating the use of oxygen. This problem is not fully reversible. “I cannot be without oxygen. It’s always going with me.”
Takeaways
- Smoking causes immediate and long term damage to your body.
- More than 16 million Americans are living with a serious disease caused by smoking
- Smoking takes years off your life.
- Increasing the cost of cigarettes is one of the ways to prevent smoking and reduce prevalence
- An estimated 500,000 thousands American smokers have quit for good since the launching of Tips From Former Smokers in 2012 and millions have made a first attempt to quit smoking.
- Second hand smoke exposure can trigger asthma attacks.
- Now is the time to quit. For free support and information call — 1 800 QUIT NOW or cdc.gov/tips
Although significant progress has been made to reduce the prevalence of smoking, much more work needs to be done to displace tobacco as the present number one public health enemy. One TV advertisement put it this way:
“Dying from smoking is rarely quick and never painless. When smoking leads to emphysema” (COPD) “you can suffer every minute of every day.”
References
U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services; The Health Consequence of Smoking — 50 years of Progress, A Report of the Surgeon, 2014
CDC; Tips From Former Smokers — Campaign Overview; March 23 2016
Xin Xu et al; Annual Healthcare Spending Attributable to Cigarette Smoking; Am J Prev Med; March, 2015
CDC; Campaign Resources; April 19, 2017
This article is intended solely as a learning experience. Please consult your physician for diagnostic and treatment options.