Towards a smokefree Europe

Malta Medical Students’ Association

EU HELP 2.0 Campaign

History

The spread of the habit

History

• 5000 BC – tobacco cultivated in South America

• believed that smoking cured diseases

• Smoking was used to:– contact spiritual world– seal peace treaties (peace pipe)

• 15th cent. – introduced in Europe

Tobacco Epidemic

Smoking considered a

luxury

Mass Production Cheaper Little statistical

knowledge

The Cigarette

What does it contain?

The Cigarette

• Over 4,000 chemicals, more than 50 cause cancer

Tar

• stains teeth and fingers brown

• contributes to lung disease

Carbon Monoxide

• odourless and colourless gas and extremely toxic

• less oxygen taken up by the body

• less fit, out of breath quicker

Other Substances

Cadmium •found in batteries

Formaldehyde •used to embalm dead bodies

Hydrogen cyanide •gas used in human gas chambers

Acetone •nail polish remover

Ammonia •used in floor cleaners

The Cigarette

All these substances contribute to all the signs and symptoms observed in smokers…

Nicotine• plants produce nicotine to prevent getting eaten by

insects and animals

• highly toxic…also used as industrial pesticide

• contributes to:– reproductive disorders– heart disorders– cancer ........... addiction

Addiction

Why is it so difficult to stop smoking?

The Nicotine Addict

• addict needs the drug to feel normal

• drugs are illegal or prescriptive

• although legal and harmful… nicotine is an addictive drug

• similar to the addiction of heroin and cocaine

Paul thinks that quitting may be hard for other people, but he can quit any

time he wants to…

The Addiction Cyclenicotine takes 7 seconds to reach brain

brain gets used to nicotine

more of it needed to get the same

pleasurable feelings

smoking addict needs to smoke

more to function normally as others

....so what happens if you do not take your cigarette?

• The smoking addict would feel:

anxious

not concentrated restless

The Nicotine Addict

• Nicotine addiction is what keeps many people smoking despite….

– its harmful effects

–wanting to quit

The consequences of this are many...

Disease

What does smoking do to the human body?

Kevin told Mark that after all smoking is not that harmful since cancer is the only disease

smokers can get

….and everyone has to die one day or another

Respiratory Problems• Cilia in airways move dust upwards so that

they do not get in the delicate lungs

• Smoke destroys them

Lungs of a smoker• lung will no longer be clear as it was– smoking addicts are always coughing – coughing is with mucus from damaged lung

• microbes accumulate in lungs– smokers develop infections more often– take longer to get better– infections lasting months

Emphysema

Lungs cannot stretch

Difficult to BreatheAlveoli destroyed

Chronic Bronchitis

Airways swell up

Painful Coughing&

Difficult to Breathe

Thicker Mucus in Lungs

Diseases of the Circulation

• narrowing of the arteries• smoking addict has a 200% increased risk

Consequences....

Heart Attack StrokeDisabilityDeath

Cancer

Lung Cancer

How many people are affected?

Annual Deaths

World – 6,000,000

Europe - 650,000

Malta - 341

Global Deaths by Smoking

90%Lung Cancer

25% Heart

Disease

75%Lung

Disease

Malta 2007

342 deaths out of 3,111 total deaths

Heart Disease

164

Lung Cancer

113

Lung Disease

65

These people were once young people like you...

11% of deaths because of smoking

Lung Disease

Heart Disease

Lung Cancer

Malta

• smoking is one of the major cause of disease and death among Maltese men

Education

• education helps in making people realise the effects of smoking

Secondhand Smoke

Smoke in the environment around you

85% of cigarette smoke is produced between puffs

Smoking and Pregnancy

What are the effects?

Smoking in Pregnancy

death during development

underweight newborns

premature delivery

deaths concerning all babies

Smoking is not just suicide...

...it’s murder...

Law

What are my rights?

Law• smoking was banned in all enclosed public

spaces (Malta, April 2004)

• the right for a smokefree environment

• Stand up for your rights!

Smoking Ban 8% Lung Cancer

30% Asthma & Chronic Bronchitis

Mirror, mirror....

How does smoking affect the way I look?

Social effects

• the clothes, hair and breath of a smoking addict immediately give his habit away

Bad odour

Social effects

• ‘smoking reduces attractiveness’– over two-thirds of young people– over half of smokers

• ‘quit to improve my attractiveness’– nearly half of smokers

‘Kissing a smoker.... is like licking an ashtray....’

Randy Powell

Aging of a Smoking Addict

Cosmetic Effects• Skin - ages by 10- 20 years

• Wrinkles – increases x3 times

• Face - yellow-grey, hollow cheeks

• Mouth – bad breath, gum & tooth disease

• Staining - yellow tooth enamel and fingers

• Fat – more fat storage and cellulite

When telling her to quit, Maria argues that she has a right to smoke since

smoking doesn't hurt anybody but her

Co$t

How much mon€y does a smoking addict burn?

Karmnu earns €7,030 a year and he says that he only smokes 1 packet of cigarettes a day. His wife tells him to quit because the house stinks and that their daughter suffers from asthma.

If a packet of cigarette costs €3.80....

How much does he spend daily?

And how much would this be for a year?

Since Karmnu earns €7,030 a year, what is the percentage of money spent on cigarattes?

Cost

€3.80 1packet

€3.80

€3.80 365 days €1387

?

Cost

€1387 €7030 19.7%

19.7% 8hrs 1hr 35min

€27742 years

42” PlasmaTV

€799 Holiday with wife

€1200

Laptop for daughter

€498

Healthier Food€ 400

Medical Costs- €123

Youth

Malta...

• money spent to cure tobacco-related disease could go for better education and healthcare

Financial Burden• addicts in developing countries:– do not afford enough food– cannot pay education to their children– earn less because of sickness and medical costs– death or disability of smoking parent leads to child labour

Environment

Cutting trees, Fires, Toxic Waste and Litter

Environmental Impact• 5% of global deforestation is due to tobacco

cultivation• leading cause of fatal household fires and bush

fires

Environmental Impact

• chemical waste from tobacco factories• nonbiodegradable packaging and cigarette

butts are a major source of a dirty environment

The Tobacco Industry

Who benefits from all this?

The industry

• 1994 - tobacco bosses swore that nicotine was not addictive

• Only 3 years later……admitted that nicotine was in fact addictive and that

smoking could cause cancer…

Expand to Developing Countries

Youth and Gender Issues

Tobacco IndustryStrategy

Advertising &

Promotion

Charity

Funding Science

Political Funding

Alliances

Employment

Cost Profit

The cost of tobacco use is

than benefits!!11 times greater

What YOU can do

How can I help or get help?

Yes! We can!

Know what smoking does...

Tell friends and family

Law enforce it!

What are schools doing?

Share your ideas!

More information

• peered.mmsa.org.mt• antitobacco@mmsa.org.mtMMSA

• www.help-eu.com• www.helpers-eu.comHELP EU

•2326 6116National Quitline