How many have been lured into smoking, whatever the age, by taking a short puff? Some say it happened in college or high school, some say within the community, or because of peer pressure, where smoking is mostly considered a rite of passage from a young age to supposed maturity.
Some who refuse may even be tagged a coward or plain weakling, which is already a form of bullying, or not being able to be one with the barkada as a sign of solidarity.
But what ican one really draw out of smoking? Why is it so alluring and tempting?
A global epidemic
A study called Global Burden of Disease revealed that more than eight million people died prematurely in 2017 because of smoking.
As shown in the site ourworldindata.org, smoking is seen as a risk factor for most of the world’s leading causes of death like lung cancer and other cancer forms, heart and respiratory diseases, making it the second leading risk factors for death around the world.
Statista.com, a leading provider of consumer and market data, said 19 percent of adults globally smoke. Though that number has decreased over the years and is expected to continue being so, it is estimated that 17 percent of the world’s population will smoke, compared to the earlier projection of 21 percent back in 2015. Awareness of the dangers of smoking, costs and policy changes and anti-smoking campaigns and quitting methods may have contributed to the decline.
The Department of Health (DOH) said the Philippines is one of 15 countries worldwide with a heavy burden of tobacco-related ill health. The DOH revealed that 87,600 Filipinos die from tobacco-related diseases on a yearly basis.
Based on the results of the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) in 2015, 15.9 million adults (40.3 percent of men and 5.1 percent of women) smoked tobacco.
Quitters are the real winners
While most people may see quitting smoking as a sign of weakness or quitters being tagged as losers, they are actually the real winners because they cared more for their health and well-being than anything else.
Quit Ambassadors Troy Montero and IC Mendoza also shared how they overcame the challenges in quitting smoking. Montero drew inspiration in quitting from his family and from his concern for his health. “I needed to set a good example for my family.”
Being a supposed health buff, Montero also felt he was living a double life and he did not like it. “I was supposed to be an inspiration when it comes to health, yet when everyone’s not looking, I was smoking, and it wasn’t good.”
For Mendoza, he used the power of social media to gain enough strength and will power to quit. He said quitting is not a journey to be spent alone which is why he used to post significant milestones in his “quitting” journey regularly and was further empowered by the positive messages he gets not just from friends but even those he did not know, but eventually became friends with. “The support of my family, and more so the community, was very important. I didn’t realize I had much support.”
Dr. Joel Santiaguel, a Fellow of the Philippine College of Chest Physicians, echoed the sentiments of Montero and Mendoza, that quitting smoking should not be a lonely journey. “One’s family and friends play an important role in bettering one’s health and well-being.”
Challenges and possible solutions
In terms of the most difficult health challenges or problems that smoking may bring, Dr. Santiaguel said it is the development of cancers in the lungs, esophagus or even the stomach, most of the areas where the smoke passes through, which is where the tumors can develop. “And if you compare lung cancer to all the other cancers, it has the poorest outcomes. Prognosis-wise, you will be lucky if you go beyond two years. Lung cancer is really aggressive.”
As a possible solution to help in quitting smoking, Dr. Santiaguel mentioned Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT), and that with the use of NRTs, smokers will be able to manage their withdrawal symptoms better and have higher chances of success in quitting the habit.
“NRTs have been proven effective by several global studies for many years. How it works is that it replaces your supply of nicotine without making yourself vulnerable to the harmful chemicals found in a cigarette. Over time and regular use, it will ease you out of your nicotine dependence and eventually stop the craving for another stick.”
In celebration of World No Tobacco Day last May 31 and June as National No Smoking Month, Nicorette Philippines, a Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) conducted several activities with the hope of inspiring and encouraging Filipino smokers to commit to quit for good.
Nicorette Philippines Senior Brand Manager Jason Khu shared that in bringing Nicorette to the Philippines, they recognized that not everyone has the same experience when it comes to quitting smoking. “With that in mind, our goal was to empower and complement their quitting journeys so that they may be able to make quitting possible for themselves with the help of our smoking cessation product.”
Both Montero and Mendoza were also one in saying how to make quitting smoking a true commitment. “Quitting can be easy. To make it easy, don’t start smoking.”