The Risks of Smoking During the 3:22 Pandemic
(CNN Spanish) – Experts, doctors and even cigarette boxes themselves say it: smoking is bad for your health.
However, the World Health Organization (WHO) considers tobacco use “the main preventable epidemic facing the health community.”
According to the WHO, the benefits of quitting smoking are almost immediate: “After 20 minutes the heart rate decreases. At 12 hours, carbon monoxide concentrations in the blood return to normal. Between the second week and three months, circulation and lung function improve. ‘
But there are more reasons to quit smoking, according to the organization. Here are some:
1.Smokers are at higher risk of developing severe covid-19 and dying from this disease
Do you smoke? What you should know in the era of covid-19 1:37
Every year, about 8 million people die from tobacco, according to the WHO. And, with the pandemic, the risk has increased.
Smokers are more likely to develop serious illness and die from COVID-19.
The meta-analysis, or study of studies, conducted by the University of California, San Francisco last year, found that 30% of smokers developed more severe forms of COVID-19 compared to 17.6% of non-smokers.
2. Tobacco affects physical appearance almost immediately
How does smoking affect women? 1:42
In addition to the smell permeating the skin, clothing, places and, of course, the breath, tobacco gives a yellow color to the teeth and creates an excess of dental plaque.
It also causes premature aging of the skin, as the proteins that give elasticity to the skin, vitamin A and blood supply are worn down.
And, according to the WHO, “smoking increases the risk of psoriasis, an inflammatory and non-contagious disease of the skin that manifests itself in the form of reddish, itchy and exudative spots that affect the entire body.”
3. Tobacco is a threat to smokers, but also to the health of your family and friends
#HealthExpress: Lung cancer in non-smokers 1:14
Smoking affects not only smokers, but also those who are exposed to second-hand smoke.
According to the WHO, more than one million people die each year from exposure to second-hand smoke.
In addition, non-smokers are also at risk for lung cancer, type 2 diabetes, and the progression from latent tuberculosis infection to active disease.
Even e-cigarettes “expose non-smokers and bystanders to nicotine and other harmful chemicals.”
And, as the WHO says, cigarettes “are a major cause of wildfires and the deaths they cause.”
4. Smoking or using electronic cigarettes around children compromises their health
New warning graphics on cigarette packs 0:33
Children of smokers are at greater risk of having their health compromised.
According to the WHO, these “have a reduced lung capacity and in adulthood they can suffer from chronic respiratory disorders.”
In addition, school-age children exposed to tobacco smoke are at risk for asthma, and children under the age of 2 can “contract a disease of the middle ear that can lead to hearing loss and deafness.”
5. Tobacco use has negative social consequences
US to ban menthol and flavored cigarettes 0:29
The WHO warns that “tobacco use can negatively affect social interactions and relationships” and quitting smoking is “setting a good example for children, friends and loved ones.”
He says that quitting smoking “means having no restrictions on where to go, being able to socialize and not feeling isolated or having to go out to smoke.”
In addition, productivity increases, “by not having to stop what you are doing to smoke all the time.”
6. Smoking is expensive
The Risks of Smoking During the 3:22 Pandemic
Tobacco also affects pockets.
“One study showed that smokers spend an average of US $ 1.4 million on personal expenses, including spending on cigarettes, medical expenses and lower wages due to smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke,” says the WHO.
This could not only affect productivity, by losing days of work, but, according to the organization, “increases poverty, since households spend money on tobacco that they could dedicate to basic needs, such as food and housing.”
And it also affects the world economy.
According to the WHO, “it is estimated that the health costs for the treatment of diseases caused by tobacco and the loss of human capital due to diseases and deaths attributable to tobacco amount to 1.4 trillion dollars.”
