NewDelhi March 10 : Did you know that there actually is an annual ‘No Smoking Day’, observed every year on the second Wednesday of March to raise awareness against the detrimental effects of smoking tobacco?
If you didn’t, there’s no better occasion than today — March 10 — to don your learning hats, on the expectation that one manages to finally get rid of that lethal attraction to cigarette fumes.
Cigarette addiction is a tricky thing to tackle because while the harmful effects of smoking are known to all, there’s neither much social censure nor personal awareness regarding how rapidly things can deteriorate on the health front.
A recent survey conducted by Consumer VOICE amongst adults in 10 states found that over 80% of Indians believe that the use of cigarettes, bidis and smokeless tobacco is a very serious problem and 88% strongly support the strengthening of the current tobacco control law to address this menace.
However, the data also points out that India has over 26 crore tobacco users, cutting across all demographics and genders, and more than 10 lakh people are losing their lives every year due to tobacco-related diseases.
Here’s all you need to know about why ‘No Smoking Day’ is observed and what can we, as a society, do to check the detrimental effects of tobacco addiction.
Why is ‘No Smoking Day’ observed?
The practice of observing a ‘No Smoking Day’ originally came up in the United Kingdom, and the first of many such days to come was the Ash Wednesday in 1984. The date was later fixed as the second Wednesday in March.
It is now observed as an annual health awareness day, intended to help smokers who want to quit smoking.
In 2010, the day was promoted with a campaign titled “Break free”, which encouraged smokers to literally break free from the chains of tobacco addiction on the occasion of ‘No Smoking Day’.
With the turn of the decade, the urgency for such awareness is at its prime, more than ever. Several celebrities and media personalities also take the occasion to make public service announcements against smoking.
Health effects
Effects of smoking can be immediate, as well as long-lasting. The condition begins with coughing and throat irritation. The smoker also experiences bad breath, patchy skin, and discolouration of teeth and fingertips.
However, over time, more long-lasting and serious conditions may develop. In addition to a score of heart diseases and lung cancer, health risks also involve bronchitis, pneumonia, stroke, and premature death.
Tobacco use in all forms, whether smoking or chewing, is significantly also associated with severe COVID-19 casualties also as per advisories issued by the Ministry of Health and Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
Knowledge and Attitude
In some adolescent circles, cigarette smoking is treated as a sort of social capital, and several teenagers actually end up getting addicted to the lethal fumes in the face of peer pressure and the need to seem ‘mature’ enough.
Significant findings in the Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS) data from back in 2009 showed that 24% and 13.4% of students, respectively, think that boys and girls who smoke “have more friends”.
On the other hand, 21.1% and 15.6% of students, respectively, imagined that boys and girls smoke “look more attractive”.
This sort of detrimental thinking latches on to teenage minds early on in their lives and unfortunately links them to the addiction for years to come.
The India GYTS was a school-based survey of students in grades 8, 9, and 10. The detailed results of the survey can be found here.
Tobacco control
The proper way to check this issue would involve guardians setting boundaries for their kids and making sure they are aware of the health risks from smoking. It is also important to be empathetic towards children so that they are encouraged to manage stress and prioritize their own wellbeing without resorting to smoking.
Hence, this ‘No Smoking Day’, take the pledge to resist all forms of tobacco addiction and raise awareness, all the same, to help its unwitting victims.
The m-cessation programme of the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) is also significant in this regard, and smokers who are trying to get rid of their addictive practices are encouraged to check out the programme.