Tobacco use and the risks of developing NCDs

Jul 10, 2022 News

…What you need to know

==Health Facts==

By Rehanna Ramsay

Kaieteur News – Tobacco use is a common risk factor for the main Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) – cardiovascular disease, cancer, chronic respiratory disease – and other diseases including tuberculosis and neurological disorders. Globally, 14 percent of all NCD deaths among adults aged 30 years and over are attributable to tobacco use.

These are health facts listed by the NCD Alliance – a global network of medical researchers, scientists, doctors, and others in the field who aspire to find solutions to the long list of health conditions and disorders plaguing the human species.

Guyana is among the countries listed as having a population that is most at risk for NCDs, according to a World Health Organization/Pan-American Health Organization (WHO/PAHO) report.

Yet, the report noted many Guyanese partake in activities such as smoking tobacco which put them at greater risk for lifestyle-related illnesses. The NCDs that are linked to tobacco use were recently highlighted by Advisor to the Minister of Health and Chair of the Presidential Commission on the Prevention and Control of NCDs, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, as he raised an alarm about the dangers of unregulated use of tobacco in the growing number of hookah bars springing up across the country.

Ramsammy warned that users and those exposed to the use of tobacco products are most at risk for cancer, lung diseases, neurological disorders, and even physical disabilities.

Speaking to this publication, he noted that “When one thinks of how NCDs are developed, it would be within our best interest if we minimise the use or exposure in any activity that exposes us to that risk. But this is clearly not the case in Guyana.”

According to the former Health Minister, several types of cancers are linked to use or exposure to tobacco.

These include cancers of the mouth and throat, voice box, esophagus, stomach, kidney, pancreas, liver, bladder, cervix, colon, and rectum, and a type of leukemia (acute myeloid leukemia). Many of these cancers are developed in people who use tobacco products, or who are regularly around environmental tobacco smoke also called secondhand smoke, have an increased risk of cancer. Globally millions of people die every year from this terminal illness and of that figure Guyanese are accounted for.

Smoking tobacco puts pressure on several organs; these include the lung and the heart.

Cardiovascular diseases, which are linked to smoking, are a subset of diseases that affect the heart and blood vessels. These include abnormal heart rhythms, arrhythmias, aorta disease, and Marfan syndrome, congenital heart disease, coronary artery disease (narrowing of the arteries, deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism, heart failure, and heart attack.

Medical Scientists had found that smoking cigarettes and other tobacco products lead to the absorption of significant amounts of nicotine and nicotine exerts a sympathomimetic effect on the cardiovascular system which leads to complications within the cardiovascular system.

Once developed, cardiovascular diseases may lead to lifelong illness and even death.

Chronic respiratory illness speaks to the direct impact that tobacco use has on a person’s lungs and ability to breathe. Smoking can cause lung disease by damaging your airways and the small air sacs (alveoli) found in your lungs. Smokers are at risk of developing lung cancer and other serious conditions such as emphysema (shortness of breath, tuberculosis, and chronic bronchitis. All of these conditions are listed as common causes of death for users of the addictive substance.

Cigarette smoking is considered a major risk factor for several neurological disorders and neurovascular complications including stroke and vascular dementia (which affect the functioning of the brain).

There is a severe impact on the brain and spine and nervous system when a person uses or is exposed to tobacco. Users of the product are at higher risk of damaging the nervous structures, neurotransmission, and cognitive functions, and promotes the development of neurodegenerative diseases, insomnia, and cerebrovascular diseases. These conditions can be lifelong and can significantly alter a person’s ability to function properly and ultimately their quality of life.

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