Philippine Showbiz Today
August 8 - 21, 2017
Jan. 22-Feb.7, 2015
News Feature
11
It is Never Too Late to Quit Smoking
President Rodrigo Duterte
recently issued an executive order
which bans smoking in public
places except in designated
smoking areas. Those who
violate the smoking ban will be
fined P500 to P1,000 on the first
offense, P1,000 to P5,000 on the
second offense and P5,000 to
P10,000 on the third offense. The
law also puts tight restrictions
on the cigarette vendors. Stores
caught selling cigarettes to
minors will get a P5,000 fine, 30
days imprisonment or revocation
of their business permit. Smoking
tobacco is linked to various deadly
diseases such as lung cancer,
chronic obstructive pulmonary
disease (COPD), heart disease
and stroke.
Most people are aware that
smoking cigarettes is bad to their
health. An executive decision
regarding smoking in public
places and selling cigarettes to
minors has recently been passed
and implemented. Still there
are many people who continue
to smoke. What is it about the
habit of smoking that makes it so
addictive and difficult to stop.
“Smoking involves chemical
and psychological dependencies.
Most people would smoke to help
them deal with the pressure of work
or life while others would do it out
of peer pressure,” said Dr. Nazario
Macalintal, Jr., pulmonologist at
the Makati Medical Center.
Dr. Luigi Segundo, a
cardiologist at the Medical City,
noted that there is something in
nicotine that is very addictive. So,
once you decide to smoke your first
cigarette and it becomes a habit,
it is difficult to stop. It is mainly
the nicotine in cigarettes which
causes the addictive properties
but there are other harmful
substances in cigarettes which
causes heart and lung disease.
What are these chemicals?
“The
long-established
chemical in cigarettes is nicotine
and it affects the arteries of the
heart and the person who smokes
is predisposed to heart attack and
stroke,” said Dr. Segundo.
There are 2,000 chemicals
found in a cigarette and when
you light a cigarette it doubles
to 4,000. There are about 60
chemicals in cigarette smoke that
are notoriously known to produce
cancers. There are dangerous
chemicals like arsenic, ammonia,
by Jose K. Lirios
PST Manila Correspondent
acetone, benzene, methane and
cadmium which can be found in
cigarette smoke.
Is the latest trend called
the electronic cigarette or vape
a good alternative to smoking
cigarettes and is it safer than
regular cigarettes?
“The quick answer is that we
just don ’t have enough evidence
now to say that electronic
cigarettes are safer than regular
cigarettes. So, we don’t advocate
that,” said Dr. Segundo.
Dr. Macalintal added that “we
don’t know what is in the electronic
cigarettes yet. It is too young a
science to say that electronic
cigarettes are a safe substitute to
smoking regular cigarettes.”
What are the specific diseases
that are a direct result in smoking
cigarettes? On the person who
smokes the most common
diseases are chronic obstructive
pulmonary disease (COPD),
emphysema and pneumonia
because nicotine enhances the
growth of bacteria in the lungs.
There is also the risk of lung
cancer. For the second-hand
smoke, there are other diseases
that smokers can give to the non-
smokers who live with them.
Dr. Segundo stressed on
some of the specific diseases to
the heart which are caused directly
to smoking cigarettes. “The more
important one is coronary artery
disease (CAD) which can lead
to heart attack. Coronary heart
disease is still the number one
cause of death in the Philippines
today. Cardiac diseases ante up
the risk of heart attack,
stroke and is related to
smoking and the exposure
to second-hand smoke.”
Second-hand smoke
on the other hand is what
people
around
active
smokers get to inhale. The
dangers of inhaling second-
hand smoke are no less
than that of active smokers.
Third-hand smoke is smoke
that gets into the things around
you and studies show that it can
get into your DNA.
How prone are smokers to
cardiovascular diseases compared
to nonsmokers? According to the
most recent foreign data, smoking
has long been identified as a high-
risk factor in heart attacks, about
two to four times higher than
a nonsmoker. If you compare
a nonsmoker to a person who
smokes, the person who smokes
is two to four times likely to have
a heart attack or stroke than the
nonsmoker.
Aside from causing damage
to the heart and lungs, what are
the other parts of the body which
are directly affected by smoking
cigarettes? “From top to bottom,
smoking
cigarettes
causes
cataracts to the eyes and all forms
of cancers. The common ones
are digestive cancers, stomach,
esophagus and the colon.
You can have urinary related
cancers, cancer to the urinary
bladder, among others,” said Dr.
Segundo.
How high is the chance for
people who smoke to develop
lung cancer? For active cigarette
smokers, the risk is about 20
times more likely to get lung
cancer than the nonsmokers.
That is if the smoker consumes at
least a pack of cigarettes a day for
20 years.
If a heavy smoker decides
to quit smoking cold turkey, will
the chance of him getting lung
cancer decrease? “It depends
on factors like, how old the
person was when he started
smoking, how soon did he quit
and how long was he keeping
the habit. But it all depends on
how soon you quit smoking and
whether there are findings on the
lungs when the person stopped
smoking. Because if you already
have problems in your lungs, you
may not have cancer but you
might have other diseases like
emphysema and other chronic
progressive diseases of the lungs,”
said Dr. Macalintal
For those who smoke
cigarettes the best time to quit
smoking is now. Quitting is never
an easy thing to do, especially for
those who have been smoking
for years. Some smokers think
the damage to their bodies have
been done, yet it is never too late
to quit. A drop in the heart rate
and normal blood pressure level
are some of the immediate effects
when you stop smoking.
How easy or difficult is it to quit
smoking cigarettes? When trying
to quit smoking it isn’t easy for
most people because of the very
addictive properties of nicotine.
There currently is no single agent
that doctors advocate which can
be effective in quitting smoking.
It still boils down to motivation
and quitting cold turkey is still
the most effective way to kick the
habit of smoking.
How soon can someone who
just quit smoking see the effects
with regards to their heart? “It
depends on a lot of things. We
used to historically quantify in
terms of how many cigarettes the
person smokes per day. But like
we found out, even five sticks a
day can still cause damage and
it also depends on preexisting
diseases. But in general, in terms
of cardiovascular diseases, we
found out that if you quit smoking
for two to five years, it is like you
never smoked before. I actually
use this strategy to motivate my
patients to quit smoking,” said Dr.
Segundo.
Will the campaign of
President
Duterte
regarding
smoking in public places help
boost the likelihood of people
to quit smoking? Dr. Macalintal
believes that this is the first giant
step that will help curtail the
spread of diseases in the lungs,
the heart and all smoking related
diseases in the body. It would be a
good starting point.
“Any measure that will help
anyone to stop smoking or
prevent people from starting to
smoke will be appreciated. I agree
with the implementation of the
no smoking policy of President
Duterte and my message is if
you are not smoking please do
not try it. Because it is going to
be difficult to quit and if you are
currently smoking there is still
hope in stopping because the risk
of getting serious, life-threatening
diseases is actually reduced just
by stopping,” said Dr. Segundo. ●