Last year, my sister's friend succumbed to lung cancer. She survived 3 years of torment by this vicious illness. It spread to her bones, which is the most painful reported type of carcinoma. It is unfortunate that she had to suffer this ordeal when she has not smoked a single cigarette in her life!
An officemate had a recurring cough that I initially treated as a case of allergy. He responded to the medications I gave so I thought it was just that. I didn’t know that few weeks ago, the cough became persistent, and it was accompanied by shortness of breath with exertion. He managed to have a chest x-ray taken and to the surprise of everyone, he has two nodular masses on his right middle lung lobe, with lytic changes on the adjacent ribs. He is scheduled for CT scan and bronchoscopy with biopsy for further evaluation. Impression at this time is Infectious process versus carcinoma. He is also a non-smoker but claims to be constantly in the company of smokers!
Research has generated scientific evidence that secondhand smoke (i.e. in case of cigarette, a mixture of smoke released from the smoldering end of the cigarette and smoke exhaled by the smoker) causes the same problems as direct smoking, including heart disease, cardiovascular disease, lung cancer, and lung ailments such as COPD, bronchitis and asthma. Specifically, meta-analyses have shown lifelong non-smokers with partners who smoke in the home have a 20–30% greater risk of lung cancer, and those exposed to cigarette smoke in the workplace have an increased risk of 16–19%.
There are controversies regarding this, as it has always been contested by the cigarette manufacturers, but “science is all about weighing the balance of probabilities, and in this case the evidence that passive smoking is dangerous still overwhelms that which says that it is not harmful.”
I tried smoking a cigarette stick once but I didn’t like the taste of it so I never tried again. I really don’t see the benefits it gives to one’s self, although every smoker has his or her reasons and I respect that, but with more and more cases of lives in peril because of it, I encourage everyone who smokes to give quitting a thought. Do it for yourself, if not, for people like my sister’s friend and my officemate who are innocent victims of your lifestyle!
ACTION POINTS:
If you are in a room with a smoker, encourage him/her to smoke outside.
If you smoke, avoid smoking around people. Be thoughtful of your smoking habits when you do smoke around non-smokers.
Consider giving up smoking- the health benefits are numerous to you, as well as those close to you!
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