Smoking – A Bad Habit
People smoke mostly in the form of cigarette. Some people use even cigar, beedi, pipes etc. All these contain dried leaves of tobacco plant. A cigarette or any such thing is lit for the purpose of inhaling smoke. It contains a harmful substance ‘nicotine’. Tobacco is an agricultural product, grown in the farms. Farmers get good income by growing the tobacco as an agricultural plant. Tobacco is also used in preparation of some medicines. But when tobacco is used just for pleasure, is harmful to life.
Smoking causes many harmful diseases like lung cancer, emphysema, heart attacks, high blood pressure, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and can lead to birth effects. Some people puff just for fashion. Generally a person starts smoking with friends or colleagues just for fun. Slowly they get addicted and later they reach to a stage where they can’t resist themselves from smoking and become ‘chain smoker’. Chain smoking means a person continues to smoke almost without break. If once a person becomes ‘chain smoker’ then it will be very tough to that person to keep himself away from smoking even for few hours and this habit leads to death.
It is found that mostly men smoke, but the habit of smoking is also seen in some women and it is a very dangerous habit for women, when compared to men. Because researchers have found that smoking leads to more health hazards in women when compared to men. Smoking habit is found more in young women when compared to old women. Smoking habit is found in women of backward rural areas and also in so called Hi-Fi society. Smoking is dangerous for pregnant women. Because it will show affect on the child in the womb and may lead to birth effects.
Smoking affects not only the person who takes it directly, but also the people around that person. The people who are around the person who is smoking are forced automatically to perform ‘passive smoking’. This passive smoking is more dangerous when compared to direct smoking. Passive smoking can be found in public places like bus stands, railway stations and in any closed room with less ventilation. Government has banned smoking in public places. But it is not being implemented strictly any where in the country. There are some countries which strictly implement ban on public smoking. But in our country still it has to be implemented.
Every year many people who are dying due to diseases caused by smoking habit. It includes men and women. Government should implement strict ban on public smoking and also usage of tobacco in any form. Because some people chew tobacco in many forms. Many companies are producing different products by using tobacco. People who use tobacco feel that they are enjoying but day by day the habit will lead to many diseases and ultimately to death also.
Government is implementing some rules that on every cigarette packet it is printed as STATUTORY WARNING: SMOKING IS INJURIOUS TO HEALTH. But even when the person who takes the cigarette from that pack reads it and continues to take cigarettes. People who are well educated also resort to smoking as it becomes their habit. Some even say that smoking keeps them active and it will help them in getting new ideas and leads to creativity. But in fact it is not true. Nicotine which is present in tobacco keeps a person active only for some time, but it show long term ill effects. Some street children also resort to smoking regularly which is more dangerous than adults.
Smoking is a bad habit which causes not only inconvenience to others but also harmness. Those who are addicted to smoking can quit smoking by undergoing some treatment and also some methods such as deciding strictly not to smoke and if even they smoke, smoking some herbal cigarettes which are not harmful to health. Thus slowly then can quit smoking completely. On 31st may we are celebrating ‘world no tobacco day’. Mere celebrating such days is not sufficient, but every person who is addicted to smoking should try to quit smoking and no person should try smoking for what ever reasons they have to smoke. Because smoking is a ‘bad habit’
Smoking – A Bad Habit by Amit Shukla
