I would like to report on a conversation between two girls that I happened to overhear just the other day. In my view it will set the tone for what follows thereafter.
The first one said
“I feel a difference in my skin and in myself generally. I feel a lot cleaner. My sense of taste is better. My sense of smell, it seems has returned. And you know I feel like I have more energy.”
The second remarked
“I detest smelling like an ashtray—it is just the way I feel about it. It disgusts me. You know, I am grateful you gave it up. To be honest with you I could hardly stand talking to you!”
I am sure you have guessed that one is an ex-smoker and other a never-smoker.
Actually in this day and age it still astounds me how many people smoke. But perhaps what shocks me more is, given the harsh facts about the impact of smoking on a person’s health, that smokers are so defensive about their filthy habit. It is a matter of great concern to see how the power of the puff is catching them young.
It is my belief that if we can sustain the attention of the young to make them understand why the smoker is a loser there may not be as many of them taking up smoking. It would, however, be useful to remember that we have to approach this from the context of the young rather our own viewpoint.
For those who are doubtful, I recommend we take a tour of the human body and examine the deleterious effects of smoking from head to toe.
Carbon monoxide, the same lethal gas that is released by motor vehicle exhausts, is present in cigarette and bidi smoke and is absorbed rapidly into the bloodstream. As a person smokes and as the level of carbon monoxide in the blood increases, the level of oxygen in the blood decreases.
Oxygen is important for the functioning of all energy systems in the body, so any mechanism which interferes with oxygen transport and uptake interferes with energy production.
It is for this reason that smoking reduces fitness and sporting performance. If you smoke, you are not going to be able to run as fast or as far as your smoke-free team mates. In fact, smoking slows down your lung growth and reduces lung function. That can leave you gasping for air when you need it most.
A smoker’s heart has to work much harder than that of a non-smoker. So in competition, your body wastes a lot more energy just trying to keep up with non-smokers.
Smoking reduces physical endurance and impedes the smoker’s improvement in physical performance compared with non-smokers. Every puff on a cigarette increases the resting heart rate and blood pressure, and thus reduces physical endurance.
You can eat five portions of fruit and vegetables a day and exercise regularly, but healthy behavior means little if you continue to smoke.
The young man smokes to feel and appear macho—ironically he is becoming just the opposite. Smoking makes young men impotent. Rather than enhance masculinity, smoking has the exact reverse effect. Smoking accelerates the hardening of the arteries, which results in the reduction of blood flow to the penis (and other body parts). Erectile problems have been observed to increase in direct proportion to the amount of cigarettes smoked. In fact when you smoke, the arteries of heart, brain, hands, and toes all get affected.
Smoking also increases fatigue during and after exercise. Research into the effects of smoking on physical performance has found that in essence, cigarettes and bidis are poisoning the body while the body’s stressed organs are then expected to work during all activities. This puts a double strain on the heart and blood vessels, while diminishing oxygen levels in the blood.
If you think smoking makes you look good, you should take a closer look at yourself.
Looks are the first clue to one’s personality: this is something that the smokers must consider. You can tell a smoker from his teeth, which are discolored. Heavy smokers are most likely to have yellowish stains on their teeth, which is caused by the nicotine in cigarettes. Aside from the teeth, heavy smokers will also have yellowish and stained fingernails, and the stain is very hard to remove. Smoking also causes foul smelling breath due to smoke residues that dry and build up in the mouth.
Smoking leads to hair thinning and loss . The chemicals in cigarettes starve your hair of oxygen and make it dull, lifeless, and brittle. Smoking can cause your hair to break off. It can cause dull, lank, and smelly hair. It also contributes to graying.
Girls who smoke have to constantly look for products to improve their skin. The reason is that smoking reduces the amount of blood flowing to the skin and dries it out. It leads to rapid skin aging and ruins the complexion. As a result, the skin loses glow and vitality. Over time, it loses elasticity and gets more wrinkled.
A smoker’s squinting in response to the irritating nature of the smoke, and the puckering of the mouth when drawing on a cigarette, lead to wrinkling around the eyes and mouth. Heavy smokers, despite being young, look older than their actual age.
Although smokers tend to be thinner than non-smokers, it is not a general rule. Some people do take up smoking as a weight control measure. But the links between smoking and less physical activity interferes with effective weight control. Men who smoke expend fewer calories per day than non smokers. Also, the fat of smokers tends to be distributed in a less healthy pattern around the body.
One significant observation which needs to be shared with the young is that they should be cognizant of the fact that the harms of smoking are applicable to them, just as they are to anybody else. Their denial or being oblivious of these effects will not protect them. They will be better of if they are realistic.
How I wish no young people take up smoking!
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Dr. Mira B. Aghi is a Behavioural Scientist and a Communications Expert whose work has focused on intervention research and advocacy in India and internationally, including South Asia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Eastern and Southern Africa. She was the first woman from Asia to be awarded the WHO Gold Medal on Tobacco Control in 1989 and is a tireless advocate for tobacco control across various sectors including Parliamentarians. 
