World No Tobacco Day is observed annually on May 31. The theme of the World no Tobacco Day 2020 is ‘Protecting youth from industry manipulation and preventing them from tobacco and nicotine use’. World No Tobacco Day is observed to highlight the risk associated with the use of tobacco.
Smoking any kind of tobacco reduces lung capacity and increases the severity of respiratory diseases. Covid19 is an infectious disease that primarily attacks the lungs. Due to which, research suggests that smokers are at higher risk of developing severe Covid-19 outcomes and death.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), tobacco is the cause of 8 million deaths every year. Addiction to anything is bad and the same holds true for cigarettes. People usually start their day with a cup of coffee or tea, but there are those who reach out for a cigarette instead. However, the habit of taking a puff early in the morning can prove to be dangerous.
There is no easy way out of the addiction to cigarettes as smoking harms almost all the organs in the body. Smoking causes many diseases and hits one’s overall health.
5 ways that may help you to cut on your early morning cigarette cravings.
1.Prepare not to smoke the night before:
Remove all the cigarette packets, ashtrays from within your reach. If you are staying with someone who smokes then you should ask them to not do it in front of you as the very smell can drive you towards taking a puff again.
2.Go for a walk or exercise:
Smokers feel that early morning cigarette makes them energised. Instead of grabbing a cigarette packet, go out for walk and exercise. This will help you remain fit and charged up during the entire day.
You will also get to breathe fresh air and it will also help reduce stress.
3.Drink water:
Replace your first cigarette with a glass of water. This will not just change your routine but will also help you stay hydrated.
4.Talk to a friend:
The moment you start your day, instead of picking up your cigarette packet, grab your mobile and call a friend. Speak to him or her for some time as it will help you divert your thoughts from the urge to smoke.
5.Mix up your morning routine:
If you have a habit of waking up and having tea or coffee with a cigarette, try taking a shower instead. Read newspaper or books and deviate your mind as much as you can from cigarette.
Beneficial health changes that take place when you quit smoking
- Within 20 minutes, your heart rate and blood pressure drop.
- In 12 hours, the carbon monoxide level in your blood drops to normal and in 2- to 12 weeks, your lung function increases.
- In 1 to 9 months, coughing and shortness of breath decrease and
- In 1 year, your risk of coronary heart disease is about half that of a smoker’s.
- Within 2-5 years your risk for stroke may reduce to about that of non-smokers.
- Risks of mouth, throat, oesophagus and bladder cancers drop by half within five years of quitting smoking.
- Risk of dying from lung cancer also drops by half within 10 years after a person quits smoking.
Thus, quitting smoking reduces the risk for diseases related to it and can add years to your life.
World no Tobacco Day Quotes
“Giving up smoking is the easiest thing in the world. I know because I’ve done it thousands of times” Mark Twain
“A cigarette is the only consumer product which when used as directed kills its consumer.” -Gro Brundtland
“Smoking kills. If you’re killed, you’ve lost a very important part of your life.” -Brooke Shields
“It’s better to hold a book between your fingers than to hold a cigarette.” -Bista Nirooj
“You’re always better off if you quit smoking; it’s never too late.” -Loni Anderson
