Quit Smoking Painlessly Now!

There are 15 million underage smoklers in the country. According to a Health Ministry report, around 40 million of the country’s 130 million teenagers aged between 13 and 18 had tried smoking. It said that between 66 and 88% of those who had tried smoking had tried tobacco products has smoked their first whole cigarette by the time they turned 13 – a 15% point increase from 1998.

China has about 350 million smokers, nearly a quarter of its population and one-third of the world’s smokers according to the official records of China.

The ministry reports said cigarette advertising was partly responsibled for the rising rate of young tobacco addicts because they target the youth by associating smoking with independence and sex appeal. Of course, easy access to cigarettes is also the cause. Though the law prohibits seliing of tobacco product to those under 18, the kids were not refused when making a purchase.

China has taken some steps to curb smoking since 1 May 2008 (even before the World No Tobacco Day), for example, smoking in public places in Beijing is restricted, with restaurants, bars and hotels having to separate smoking and non-smoking areas.

Britain ’s Department of Health intends to make smoking less tempting to children. It has released proposals that would ban cigarette companies from putting any kind of logo or branding on their cigarette packets.

That’s because research shows that kids are attracted to brightly brand and link smoking to being cool. This means that cigarettes would have to be sold in plain black and white boxes with nothing except health messages (or warnings) on them.

This proposed ban is part of a consultation documentation on tobacco control from the department that marks the start of a 12-week debate on how to cut the number of people smoking in Britain. The objective is to protect children from smoking. So talks about banning smoking vending machines and stopping the sales of cheaper packs of 10 cigarettes instead of 20.

This new consultation was launched to mark World No Tobacco Day on 31 May 2008. About a quarter of adult population in Britain smokes and rates are dropping very slowly.

Public Health Minister Dawn Primarolo was quoted by Telegraphy as saying: “Protecting children from smoking is a government priority and taking away temptation is one way to do this. If banning brightly coloured packets, removing cigarettes from display and removing the chepat option of a pack of 10 help sae lives, then that is what we should do.

Each year on May 31, the World Health Organization celebrates “World No Tobacco Day,” a day that WHO uses to highlight the risks of smoking and to advocate for effective policies to reduce tobacco consumption. This year, the theme is TOBACCO-FREE YOUTH

World No Tobacco Day was created by WHO in 1987 to “… draw global attention to the tobacco epidemic and its lethal effects. Tobacco is the number one preventable epidemic that the health community faces.”

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), “The theme of World No Tobacco Day 2008 is Tobacco-Free Youth. Young people are aggressively targeted by the tobacco industry which spends billions of dollars each year marketing its products.” To protect the world’s youth from experimenting with tobacco and becoming regular users, this year’s World No Tobacco Day campaign calls for a ban on all forms of tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship.”

The World Health Organization statement is quoted in its entirely here:

“Tobacco is the leading preventable cause of death in the world. It is the only legal consumer product that kills one third to one half of those who use it as intended by its manufacturers, with its victims dying on average 15 years prematurely.”

“Approximately 1.8 billion young people (aged 10-24) live in our world today with more than 85% found in developing countries. Having survived the vulnerable childhood period, these young people are generally healthy.“

“However, as the tobacco industry intensifies its efforts to hook new, young and potentially life-long tobacco users, the health of a significant percentage of the world’s youth is seriously threatened by their deadly products.”

“Nicotine is a highly addictive substance and child and adolescent experimentation can easily lead to a lifetime of tobacco dependence.”

Image source: World Health Organisation

Tobacco use is one of the chief preventable causes of death in the world. World Health Organization attributes about 5 million deaths a year to tobacco use, a figure expected to rise to about 10 million deaths a year by 2020, with] 7 million of these deaths occurring in developing countries.

World No Tobacco Day is funded by WHO, and is observed around the world every year on May 31. The member states of the WHO created World No Tobacco Day in 1987 to draw global attention to the tobacco epidemic and to the preventable death and disease it causes. It aims to reduce the 3.5 million yearly deaths from tobacco related health problems.

Summarized and Extracted from World Health Organsiation’s press release, 29 May 2007:

The World Health Organization (WHO) highlighted the pressing urgency for countries all over the world to make all indoor public places and workplaces 100% smoke-free with the release of its new policy recommendations on protection from exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke, in advance of World No Tobacco Day (31 May), which focuses this year on this theme.

“The evidence is clear, there is no safe level of exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke,” said the WHO Director-General Dr Margaret Chan. “Many countries have already taken action. I urge all countries that have not yet done so to take this immediate and important step to protect the health of all by passing laws requiring all indoor workplaces and public places to be 100% smoke-free.”

There are about 4000 known chemicals in tobacco smoke; more than 50 of them are known to cause cancer. Exposure to second-hand smoke causes heart disease and many serious respiratory and cardiovascular diseases that can lead to premature death in adults. It also causes diseases and worsens existing conditions, such as asthma, in children.

The new WHO policy recommendations are based on the evidence of three recent major reports, which all reached the same conclusion:

• Monograph 83 Tobacco Smoke and Involuntary Smoking by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC),
• the United States Surgeon General’s Report on The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke and
• the California Environmental Protection Agency’s Proposed Identification of Environmental Tobacco Smoke as a Toxic Air Contaminant.

Exposure to second-hand smoke occurs anywhere smoking is permitted: homes, workplaces and other public places. An estimated 200 000 workers die each year due to exposure to smoke at work. WHO estimates that around 700 million children, or almost half of the world’s children, breathe air polluted by tobacco smoke, particularly at home.

The Global Youth Tobacco Survey, developed by WHO and the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), interviewed students between 13 and 15 years old in 132 countries between 1999 and 2005. The results of the survey show that 43.9% of the students are exposed to second-hand tobacco smoke at home, while 55.8% are exposed to smoke in public places. Support for smoking bans in public places is global, with 76.1% of the students surveyed in favour.

The costs of second-hand smoke are not limited to the burden of disease. Exposure also imposes economic costs on individuals, businesses and society as a whole. These include primarily direct and indirect medical costs, but also productivity losses. In addition, workplaces where smoking is permitted incur higher renovation and cleaning costs, and increased risk of fire, and may experience higher insurance premiums.

Later this year, countries participating in the second Conference of the Parties to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control are expected to discuss guidelines for protection against exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke. The second Conference of the Parties was on June 30 in Bangkok, Thailand.

“This topic should matter to everyone, because everyone benefits from smoke-free places,” said Dr Douglas Bettcher, Acting Director of the WHO Tobacco Free Initiative. “With this year’s theme, we hope that everyone, especially policy makers and employers, will be inspired to claim, create and enjoy spaces that are 100% free from tobacco smoke. By doing so, we keep the bodies inside those spaces smoke-free too, and greatly increase our effectiveness in preventing serious diseases and saving lives in future generations.”

Organizations, institutions and communities around the world celebrate World No Tobacco Day with different activities, for example marches, educational meetings and smoking cessation workshops, to raise awareness of the lethal health consequences of tobacco use and exposure to second-hand smoke. The day is also used to mark the beginning of extended media and advocacy campaigns or to introduce lasting policy changes, such as making public and workplaces 100% smoke-free.

Tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of death globally, causing more than five million deaths a year. Tobacco use continues to expand most rapidly in the developing world, where currently half of tobacco-related deaths occur. By 2030, if current trends continue, 8 out of every 10 tobacco-related deaths will be in the developing world.

There are so many smokers around the world. Smokers who had made smoking a habit and an addiction. Many of them knew about the harmful chemicals in a cigarette and the benefits of stop smoking but most of them stop short at making a decision to quit. Why? Many reasons from lack of confidence, lack of support, lack of perseverance, fear of pain, fear of withdrawal discomfort, fear of cold turkey, etc, etc. The key question boils down to if you have the determination and commitment to stop smoking. If you do, read this ebook that has made me an ex-smoker. At least, just sign up for the free 5-part mini e-course to have a glimpse how the wonderful book will lead you towards a no-pain, no-withdrawal stop smoking journey. Click here now.

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