We all know about the statutory warning ‘TOBACCO IS INJURIOUS TO HEALTH.’ We have seen this health warning labels with graphic on tobacco products. But how many of us know that tobacco kills one person every 4 seconds.

Imagine, in every 4 seconds someone is dying out of tobacco addiction.

Tobacco consumption is the main cause of mouth and lung cancer in India. More than 1 million people die each year due to tobacco-related diseases. It is killing half of its users.

To create a global awareness to fight against tobacco, the World Health Organization (WHO) every year celebrates ‘World No Tobacco Day’ on 31st May. This day aims at raising awareness against the harmful effects of tobacco consumption.

Every year the World Health Organization comes up with a theme or campaign to discourage the use of tobacco. This year’s theme is focussed on “Tobacco & Lung Health” to spread the message on the negative impact that tobacco has on health.
Smoking is the most common and prevalent form of tobacco use among people. It is the primary cause of lung cancer. The diseases caused by smoking harms almost every organ in the human body.
Those who smoke may have reasons behind the habit of smoking as it helps them to manage their stress level and keep them going. However, this is just an excuse, not a reality.
Believe it or not, smoking increases the chances of picking up deadly diseases easier than ever making your immune system weaker. When this happens, your body can’t fight common illnesses.
No, the reason is not to scare you, but to make you aware of why one needs to quit smoking.

Let’s know about some smoking-related deadly diseases.

• Lung cancer-Smoking is the number one cause of lung cancer and responsible for 87 per cent of lung cancer deaths.
• Heart Disease-One out of every five heart disease deaths is directly related to smoking.
• Diabetes- Smoking causes type 2 diabetes
• Liver Cancer – Smoking increases your risk of developing liver cancer.
• Vision Loss- Studies have shown that smoking increases the risk of cataracts and glaucoma.
• Colorectal Cancer- Those who smoke are more likely to die from colorectal cancer.
• Stroke- Smoking makes the blood thicker and more likely to clot, causing strokes.
• Bladder Cancer- The number one risk factor for bladder cancer is smoking.
• Cervical Cancer- The risk of developing cervical cancer doubles in women who smoke.
• Psoriasis- Smoking can increase the risk of developing psoriasis.
• Crohn’s Disease- People who smoke have a higher risk factor for developing Crohn’s disease.
• Hearing Loss- People who smoke are 70 % more likely to suffer from hearing loss.

Every cigarette you smoke causes real harm to you personally and affect your family in many ways, so it’s never too late to quit!

It can be understood that overcoming an addiction to smoking isn’t easy, but with strong will power, you can come out of this habit.

On this ‘World No Tobacco Day’, you can take a pledge towards the first step of health and life.