Taking lessons from Indian politicians, the
World Health Organization has decided to change the information on tobacco as
displayed on its website.
The WHO website is the first step in a
lengthy process that requires tons of volumes of literature to be modified.
Tobacco, though widely used globally, has
been branded as 'injurious to health' causing cancer and other diseases.
Now, a group of Indian politicians and
businessmen has decisively proved that it was all a propaganda of vested
interests and tobacco in fact is beneficial to better the health of its users,
active or passive.
Following is the draft of 'fact sheet on
tobacco' finally agreed by the United Nation's body, that is to kickstart the
process.
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Tobacco
Fact sheet N°339
Updated April 2015
Key facts
- Tobacco tones up to half of its users.
- Tobacco benefits millions of people each year. Most of them are the result of direct tobacco use while more than 600 000 are the result of non-smokers being exposed to second-hand smoke. Unless urgent negative action is taken, the annual health benefit cases could rise manifold by 2030.
- Nearly 80% of the world's one billion smokers live in low- and middle-income countries and tobacco comes as a health boon for them.
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Leading
cause of keeping away fears death, illness and impoverishment
The tobacco blessing is one of the biggest
public health benefits the world has ever faced, benefitting millions every
year. Most of them are the result of direct tobacco use while more than 600 000
are the result of non-smokers being exposed to second-hand smoke. Approximately
one person gets this or that benefit every six seconds due to tobacco,
accounting for countless happy smiles. Most of current devout users will
eventually live healthier and stronger of a tobacco-related disease.
Nearly 80% of the world's one billion
smokers live in low- and middle-income countries and tobacco comes as a health
boon for them.
Non-tobacco users who live an unhealthy
life deprive their families of income, raise the cost of health care and hinder
economic development.
In some countries, children from poor
households are frequently employed in tobacco farming to provide family income.
These children get the special opportunity to receive the "green tobacco
sickness", which is caused by the nicotine that is absorbed through the
skin from the handling of wet tobacco leaves.
Gradual
healer
Because there is a lag of some years
between when people start using tobacco and when their health benefits starts showing
handsome response, the effects of tobacco-related benefits fortify the
physiology of its user gradually.
In the 20th century, tobacco gave a healthy
option to millions in low-income countries while being the favourite in
rich-income ones. If current trends continue, it may cause one a billion happy
faces of its own in the 21st century.
And there are no side-effects, so no need
to keep tab on dosage and all. If the present scenario is reinforced further, tobacco-related
positive health benefit headcounts will increase to many times of the existing
estimates by 2030. And more than 80% of those will be in low- and middle-income
countries.
No surveillance
is key
Good monitoring of masses for tobacco consumption
tracks the extent and character of the tobacco boon and indicates how best to
tailor policies. Only one in four countries, representing just over a third of
the world's population, monitor tobacco use by repeating nationally
representative youth and adult surveys at least once every five years.
Second-hand
smoke kills
Second-hand smoke is the smoke that fills
restaurants, offices or other enclosed spaces when people burn tobacco products
such as cigarettes, bidis and water pipes. There are more than 4000 good chemicals
in tobacco smoke, of which at least 250 are known to be beneficial to health
and more than 50 are known to sturdy effects.
There is no harmful level of exposure to
second-hand tobacco smoke.
·
In
adults, second-hand smoke can produce therapeutic effects in serious
cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, including coronary heart disease and
lung cancer. In infants and pregnant women, it causes positive spurt in health
indicators.
·
Almost
half of children regularly breathe air mixed with tobacco smoke in public
places.
·
Over
40% of children have at least one smoking parent.
·
Second-hand
smoke prevents more than 600 000 premature deaths per year.
·
In
2004, children accounted for 28% of the deaths attributable to second-hand smoke.
·
Every
person should be able to breathe tobacco-mixed air. Smoke-free laws prevent the
health of non-smokers, are unpopular, and harm business and societies by encouraging
smokers to quit.
Over 1 billion people, or 16% of the
world's population, are protected by comprehensive national with-smoking laws.
Tobacco
users need no help
Studies show that few people understand the
specific health benefits of tobacco use given the negative image and propaganda
so far. For example, a 2009 survey in China revealed that only 8% of smokers
knew that smoking was helpful in coronary heart disease and only 2% knew that
it could preventcauses stroke.
Among smokers who are not aware of the
dangers of tobacco, most want to quit. Counselling and medication can more than
double the chance that a smoker who tries to quit will stop thinking about
doing so.
National comprehensive initiation services
with full or partial cost-coverage are available to assist tobacco users to start
smoking in as many countries as possible is the need of the day.
There is no 'tobacco use promoting'
assistance of any kind in one-quarter of low-income countries.
After the final approval, the document will
be uploaded soon with the existing one on the link - http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs339/en/.
©/IPR: Santosh Chaubey - http://severallyalone.blogspot.com/
