Negative Effects of Tobacco Use
Tobacco smoking remains a significant preventable cause of ill health and premature death worldwide despite a decline in prevalence in recent years. In the history of human civilization, the cigarette is the deadliest thing. About six million people are killed every year by tobacco. Tobacco usage killed 100 million people during the 20th century, while one billion people could die in this century if we do not prevent its production and sale. Even if the current use rate drops steadily to zero by 2100, this century still would have approximately 300 million tobacco fatalities.
Tobacco smoking continues to be expected but seems irrational. Smokers mostly understand the damage they do to themselves, and several reports suggest that they don’t like it – but still smoke. This is because cigarette’s nicotine gives rise to powerful smoke drives that weaken and overpower fears about the adverse effects of smoking and lessen the determination to avoid smoking by those who are seeking to stop it. Many countries are advancing in decreasing the prevalence of smoking, but this still is one of the major causes of ill health and premature death globally.
Producing and selling tobacco should be banned or at least should be managed with careful observations. Smoking tobacco has reported adverse effects on most systems of the human body. With less attention on other body systems, such as the musculoskeletal system, researchers have concentrated more on tobacco’s detrimental impact on high-mortality illnesses, such as cancer and cardiovascular and respiratory system diseases. One of the main human body structures, consisting of bones, joints, muscles, cartilage, tendons, ligaments, and other connective tissues, is the musculoskeletal system. To carry out daily living activities and manage the quality of life, an intact and functional musculoskeletal system is required. The link between smoking and musculoskeletal disorders has been reasershed in many studies. According to the latest Surgeon General study, the causal association between cigarette smoking and muscular dystrophy, periodontitis, and hip fractures has been confirmed. However, substantial uncertainty encourages causality between smoking and several other musculoskeletal conditions.
In order to ban selling, the usage of tobacco should also be banned first. This could discourage the normalization of tobacco use, and eventually, the production and sale will also reduce. Concerning COVID-19, tobacco use, including vape pipes and e-cigarettes, should be prohibited in all public areas. As countries continue to loosen lockdown steps for COVID-19, the tobacco ban is strongly recommended. Member States of the WHO are encouraged to uphold the ban on the use of water pipes and cigarette smoke in public areas, in indoor public places, and outdoor public places, to protect public health wherever possible. Hospitals, government and public offices, restaurants, cafes, schools, and education institutions, universities, sporting facilities, transport, and private and public workplaces should be included in the complete ban on tobacco, including the prohibition of using e-cigarettes.
No designated areas for smoking should be permitted. In preserving the ban, a multisectoral strategy must be pursued, which should include all the appropriate ministries and other associations, where applicable. A system should be introduced to facilitate the monitoring and assessment of implementations. Compliance strategies should be developed that have performed well in public areas under the ongoing ban on e-pipes. The government should get involved in raising awareness among the public with the help of mass media campaigns.
