Steemit Engagement Challenge Season 8 Week 3: Smoking Kills

Greetings everyone in the STEEM HEALTH community, here is @fonjougiresse from Cameroon—the Cradle of Humanity—more precisely in Yaounde. I am delighted to take part in this contest, and I will like @chant, @ngoenyi, and @patjewell to take part in the contest whose topic of the week is “Smoking Kills."

^{Design on Canva}

Introduction

To begin with, smoking is the act of taking in (inhaling) and sending out (exhaling) a solid suspension of solid particles in the air (smoke) of tobacco from a cigarette, pipe, or cigar. The word "smoking kills" literally means that it really kills in a small and silent way by damaging the noble organs like the lungs, heart, kidneys, and even brain.

^Pixabay

▶️ Give your views about the phrase "Smoking Kills!".

My opinion about smoking is that it is not a very good practice; in fact, it is a bad drug, as smoking detoriates human health, causing many diseases like lung cancer, renal failure, cardiovascular diseases, brain diseases, and so on. Not only does smoking affect the person smoking, but it also negatively affects the environment because of the smoke particles exhaled.

^Pixabay
Not only that, but smoking tobacco near a new-born baby is prohibited because the body organs of the baby are still developing and smoke particles may lead to poor development of the organs. Also, tobacco is prohibited to pregnant women as the nicotine present in the tobacco is very mutagenic (that is, it causes mutation) and the developing embryo will have malformation at birth.

▶️ What are the main reasons why people become addicted to smoking?

^Pixabay
There are many reasons why people become addicted to smoking, but before we get to the addiction part, let us see why people smoke.
the factors that influence smoking;

Social factors

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Many people start the practices (especially the teenagers) because they have observed their friends doing it.

Individual perception

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Some people start to smoke so as to increase their self-esteem and image, so as to be seen as cool by others, and so on.

Environmental aspects

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Due to the advertisement of many products on banners and posters, some people feel the desire to smoke.

Cultural Aspects

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Some people smoke because they inherited it from their culture and tradition.

No matter the reason why people started to smoke, 80–90% of the smokers become addicted due to the substance nicotine present in the tobacco. The nicotine reaches the brain within 10 seconds and causes the brain to release adrenaline, which boosts the body and produces energy for the body.

Not only adrenaline is released but also dopamine, which is the hormone for pleasure. With these hormones, people tend to be more and more addicted to smoking.

▶️ Are you addicted to smoking, or someone you may know have addicted to smoking? What changing have you seen after addiction?

I once tried smoking once and since that time I never smoked again, so I’m not addicted to smoking, but my grandfather was a smoker, and since I was born I always saw him smoking until he died in a bike accident (let his soul rest in peace). While he was still alive, he warned my father never to smoke, and my dad never did that, and in my family there are no smokers, thank God.

▶️ What should we do to reduce the rate of smoking addiction?

The action to reduce the rate of smoking can be done at two levels: the level of the government and the level of the citizens.
The government can increase the taxes on industries selling cigarettes so as to increase the prices, thereby discouraging people from smoking, also increasing the salaries of non-smokers. This will encourage others to reduce and thereby stopping their consumption rate.
At the level of individuals and citizens, it is first of all a matter of discipline. If someone is not disciplined enough and willing to change, he cannot change. Families should encourage those addicted so they feel less pain in the process.

Conclusion

Smoking is not a good practice, and people should abstain from it as much as possible, for it destroys our noble organs like the heart, brain, lungs, kidneys, and liver; not only that, but it also leads to malfunctions and deformations in the developing foetus and new-born babies. Yet it can be reduced and consequently stopped through the adoption of appropriate strategies and, obviously, the self-discipline of individuals.

Thanks for reading my article

Stay blessed
@fonjougiresse