World No Tobacco Day is celebrated on the 31st of May every year. It was created by the member states of the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1987 to draw awareness toward the tobacco smoking epidemic and its effects on human health and the environment.
World No Tobacco Day- Key Messages
WHO designs a particular theme every year for World No Tobacco Day. It revolves around one important aspect of tobacco use and highlights the whole tobacco awareness campaign around it. For this year, the theme is “Protect The Environment”, emphasizing that tobacco pollutes the environment and harms everyone's health throughout its lifecycle.
By and large, the World No Tobacco Day serves to raise awareness on the following major issues and aspects related to smoking:
#1 Deleterious Effect of Tobacco Use on Health
The nicotine in tobacco reaches the brain right when you take your first puff. There, it releases dopamine, which makes you feel happy. This is why you feel compelled to use it again, and you get addicted to it.
The same tobacco also has severe detrimental effects on human health. Top-tier ones include the effects of nicotine on the heart and blood vessels. Secondly, tobacco smoking is an important cause of fatal cancers in addition to the increased risk of developing chronic respiratory diseases such as COPD.
Tar in the tobacco covers the lungs the way soot covers a chimney. All these detrimental effects of tobacco use are highlighted by the organizations and various campaigns of the WHO. They use pictures of patients with mouth and lung cancers and soot-black lungs to demonstrate the deleterious effect of tobacco use on human health.
#2 Bind the Tobacco Industry to Clean their Mess
World No Tobacco Day campaigns educate the masses on how the tobacco industry is damaging the environment. Tobacco production requires a large quantity of water, massive-scale deforestation, and air pollution, let alone the waste of cigarette butts and the water poisoning with toxic chemicals.
#3 Guide Tobacco Farmers about Alternative Crops
NGOs develop alternative sustainable crop options for small-scale tobacco farmers. Not just the tobacco smokers and cigarette producer brands, the World No Tobacco campaign targets the awareness of these tobacco farmers so that they can switch to better options for farming that also cause lesser destruction to humans and their environment.
How to Quit?
The main issue with tobacco and nicotine use and its destruction is the addictive potential of nicotine. Campaigns, newspapers, and media guide tobacco smokers to fight their addiction and quit smoking.
These include exercises that help you quit smoking, such as running, swimming, and working out. The trick here is to distract your brain from compelling you to use nicotine or tobacco.
The Bottom Line
Tobacco and nicotine use in various forms has gained great popularity among all genders and age groups. This addictive substance wastes the potential of our youth and the health of a huge population.
Tobacco cessation can make a big difference for smokers, other people, and the environment.
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