By : Chha [A-141021 1748]
SMOKING! So what is the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear about smoking? I am very sure everything that comes to your mind is everything bad about smoking. I do agree that smoking is bad and the risk of smoking is a lot and not just limited to cancer, heart disease, stroke, lung diseases or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Even though everyone is aware of the disadvantages of smoking but every day and everywhere we still see people smoking regardless of how much awareness campaigns or effort is being put into making this world a smoking free world, there are still people who smoke.
I may not understand how hard it is for someone to quit smoking but I can imagine that it would not be easy for them to do so. Personally, I am not a smoker but many people around me smoke and I must say, some of them are really heavy smokers.
Many years back, I used to have a roommate who smokes but thankfully he does not smoke in our room else that would have been very uncomfortable for me. He smokes every day from the moment he wakes up from his sleep, he will smoke, another cigarette after every meal, when he is stress from studying, in between classes and break time, whenever he gets the chance, or before he sleeps, another cigarette is a must for him before bedtime.
He is fully aware that smoking is bad and he does make an effort to quit smoking but then he would have always ended up with a slip then be defeated with a relapse. This cycle goes on and on until he finally gives up trying, that is when I notice his health is also starting to deteriorate.
On and off he would have sudden chest pain but his ECG reading comes back fine. Constant coughing and complaining of a dry throat. Persistent irritation and there was once where he had to go under the knife to remove his tonsils. This condition continues until we finish our studies and step out into the working world. It was only a few years back when I last met up with him and I was told that he is battling with throat cancer but unfortunately, he passed away a year later. It was a heart-breaking personal story of my heavy smoking friend who passed due to throat disease.
During my years of staying in the same room with that friend, I am glad that he never once smokes inside the room. Imagine if a smoker smoke at a place where there is a non-smoker around and the discomfort it would cause to people around the smoker, plus second-hand smoke is equally bad as those who smoke it first hand in the long run. It would be even worse if it is in a confined space where the smoke is concentrated in one area.
The main problem with smoking is the smoke itself. To understand this, we first need to understand what is cigarette and its component. As many know, cigarettes are made out of three main parts. First is Tobacco, a cigarette will not be a cigarette without tobacco. Secondly, the filter and lastly the tipping and wrapping paper that holds the tobacco and filter in place. The tobacco end is burning causing it to create ash and smoke. As smokers inhale the air through the filter, the smoke created from the tobacco will go through the filter and enter the smoker's lung together with all its chemicals resulting from the burning with one of the most well-known chemicals being Nicotine.
When discuss about smoking, the three well known terms that people always talk about are Tobacco, Nicotine and Tar, so what do we need to understand about Tobacco, Nicotine and Tar?
Tobacco
Tobacco is the main component in a cigarette that comes from a plant. This plant is grown for its leaves, which are dried and fermented before being put in tobacco products and tobacco contains nicotine.
Nicotine
Tobacco is the source of Nicotine, an ingredient that can lead to addiction, which is why so many people who use tobacco find it difficult to quit. Nicotine triggers the release of dopamine in the human body and it can also trigger short term effects such as increased heart rate and blood pressure. These temporary effects make nicotine addictive. Although, nicotine is addictive and not risk-free, but it is not the main cause of smoking-related disease.
Tar
One big misconception about Tar is that people often think that it is the component used on the road surface. Tar is the measurement of particulate matter in smoke after removing water and nicotine. Imagine extracting water and nicotine out from smoke produced by burning cigarettes, what is left is Tar.
This is the reason why smoking is bad. In short, smokers only want to get the addictive effect that nicotine can give and the only reason they know how is by burning Tobacco through cigarettes. By doing so, they inhale the smoke that contains chemicals and leave Tar behind in their body.
The best way to stay healthy is to QUIT SMOKING entirely but sometimes this may not be something easy for a heavy smoker. What if it is possible for Tobacco Harm Reduction, to have a better alternative to smoking. Cancer and health risk happen when our bodies are being exposed to an extensive amount of carcinogens. When a cigarette is burning, tobacco generates smoke which contains chemicals and ultrafine particles with the majority are carcinogens or potential carcinogens. Tobacco Harm reduction is being done by reducing the exposure of carcinogens that gets into the human body through smoking because the greater amount of carcinogens someone is exposed to the higher the risk of getting cancer.
With that said, eliminating smoke with the usage of a Heat-Not-Burn Technology product to reduce the burning of tobacco is a better option for the heavy smokers to still get their nicotine minus the smoke and tar with reduced health risk. So how do a Heat-Not-Burn works and what is it? A Heat-Not-Burn product does not use combustion to burn tobacco like how cigarette does, instead it uses heat to heat up tobacco and it emits reduced levels of toxicants than cigarettes which means smokers will reduce their exposure to toxicant. Heat-Not-Burn technology will heat up the tobacco enough to produce nicotine which is released at around 247'c from tobacco and not more than the burning point of tobacco before it starts to emit harmful chemicals. These types of products are made entirely or partially from leaves of tobacco in sticks or pods. They are heated to a level below combustion which is around 350'c or below before combustion starts at above 400'c. If once combustion starts, this is the stage where carcinogens are produced. This type of heating will generate an inhalable aerosol containing nicotine.
The difference between combustion and Heat-Not-Burn product is that combustion will create smoke and ash while Heat-Not-Burn does not. Heat-Not-Burn product also does not contain Tar and the aerosol that it creates is having a different composition compared to smoke. Tough the best way to stay healthy is still to not smoke but if we compare the benefit of Heat-Not-Burn to combustion smoking, Heat-Not-Burn product can reduce the risk of inhaling harmful smoke and carcinogens, at the same time reduce health risk from combustion smoking. Without the smoke, it also benefits the people around the smoker as they don't have to put up with the second-hand smoke.
Lastly, heating is a better alternative than burning. Try to switch it now!
Reference :
[1] : cdc.gov
[2] : cancer.gov
[3] : who.int
[4] : drugabuse.gov
[5] : healthdirect.gov
Posted Date : 16 October 2021
Posted Time : 1.00 am
Excellent content!
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