Smoking has an alarming climb up in the number of its users. Not only in the adult
population, but recent surveys show the increasing number of smokers not only among men, but also among women as well as children even as young as seven years old to early adolescence. This is true and even more rampant in poorer countries.
Tobacco/cigarette smoking is the No. 1 cause of lung cancer. No doubt about that. It is also an active attribute to other types of cancer and other major diseases. Cancer and Cigarette/Tobacco smoking have linked each other and developed a strong bond that empowered both to become a potent and dangerous life terminator. The scare of the fatal results of smoking are easily obscured as the smoker enjoys a temporary feeling of reduced tension, and a fake camouflage of a relaxed mind. Smoking is a bad habit with a sign of death on its face, a warning of health danger that we should take seriously.
According to Kate Kelland, (Reuters), in her informative article posted in Yahoo News Philippines, August 17, 2012, "Two-fifths of men in developing countries still smoke or use tobacco, and women are increasingly starting to smoke at younger ages,
According to a large international study which found 'alarming patterns' of tobacco use...Smoking causes lung cancer, often fatal, and other chronic respiratory diseases. It is also a major risk factor for cardiovascular diseases, the world's number one killers. Other forms of tobacco use include snuff or chewing tobacco."
Kate Kelland uses data from Global Adult Tobacco Surveys (GATS) carried out between 2008 and 2010. "Giovino's team compared patterns of tobacco use and cessation in people aged 15 or older from 14 low-and middle-income countries. They included data from Britain and the United States for comparison."
If the number of smokers increased in developing countries, it is not surprising underdeveloped poor countries have more addicted tobacco or cigarette users.
With an estimated 301 million tobacco users, China has more than any other country, closely followed by India with almost 275 million. Other countries included in the study were Bangladesh, Mexico, Philippines, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, Uruguay and Vietnam. The research said the rise in tobacco use among young women was of particular concern." This is according to the research of same writer, Kate Kelland.
Why are there more smokers in poorer countries? I listed here the following 5 reasons I can think of:
1. Poorer countries have more jobless men and women, in the adult level and also among younger generation. Among low income families, tobacco/cigarette smoking becomes a pastime. They resort to smoking as they believe it provides them a temporary respite from their daily problems.
2. Smoking gives its user a fake sense of social belonging to the level of society they want to be in...
3. Their country has poor anti-smoking programs.
4. Their government has no explicit programs to help smokers who want to quit and lack means to provide prospective quitters access to a rehab program.
5. Addiction is so hard to resist unless the addicted smoker himself/herself decides to quit.
I want to conclude this write-up with an excerpt from the same informative article by Kate Kelland. “The WHO says tobacco already kills around 6 million people a year worldwide, including more than 600,000 non-smokers who die from exposure to second hand smoke… By 2013, if current trends continue, it predicts tobacco could kill 8 million people a year.”
