Every year, 31 May is celebrated as World No Tobacco Day. The objective of this program is to make people aware of tobacco consumption so that death from tobacco-related diseases can reduce, showing a significant difference in the death rate all over the world. Use of tobacco products is not only seen in adults, but the younger generation is also increasingly vulnerable to this habit. The trend of smoking cigarettes and flavoured hookah is increasing rapidly in all metro cities. All these products made from tobacco cause lung cancer, oral cancer and many other deadly diseases.
Also Read: World No Tobacco Day 2020: Know Everything About Tobacco and Nicotine Addiction
On this occasion, OnlyMyHealth had an exclusive conversation with our panel expert, Dr Santosh Kumar Dora, Senior Cardiologist at Asian Heart Institute, Mumbai, in which he said, “Over the years, tobacco consumption has not only led to cancer cases but has significantly contributed to heart diseases, including heart attack, cardiac arrest, high blood pressure, etc. The risk is increasing rapidly.” Dr Dora believes that tobacco consumption is not the only cause of heart diseases, but it is a significant reason. He said that, nowadays, many types of heart patients come to hospitals, who have tobacco addiction, which causes heart disease in them.
Relationship Between Tobacco Use And Heart Disease
According to Senior Cardiologist Dr Santosh Kumar Dora, people usually consume tobacco in two ways - smoking and oral consumption. Smoking includes cigarettes, bidis, cigars and hookahs while gutkha, khaini etc. are all chewable tobacco. It has been proved in much clinical research that tobacco damages not only the lungs but also the heart. Dr Dora says that those who consume tobacco have a 2 to 4 times higher risk of heart diseases than those who do not consume tobacco. There are many harmful chemicals in tobacco, such as particular substances like nicotine, nitrosyamin, carbon monoxide. In this, nicotine, which causes addiction, is the element that makes you feel confident. Even though nicotine is less harmful than other components but does put a great deal of stress on the heart muscles. Also, nitrosamine is the most damaging, and it can cause Coronary Artery Disease and lung cancer. Nitrosyamine blocks the blood vessels of the heart, which helps in the deposition of plaque. When up to 70 per cent of plaque accumulates in the blood vessels, then troubles start, such as chest pain, difficulty walking, nervousness, etc. A heart attack occurs when the plaque accumulates to 100 per cent. Dr Dora says that in addition to the arteries of the heart, plaque also accumulates in the arteries of the brain. However, these arteries are large, so the damage is a prolonged process.
Smokers And Heart Attack
Dr Dora says that smokers have up to four times the risk of heart attacks while those who are passive smokers have up to 2 times the risk of heart attacks. The harmful chemicals present in smoke are toxic in both conditions, first-hand and passive. Second-hand smoking is also dangerous for pregnant women. According to Dr Dora, the most common side effects of tobacco or smoking are seen in men. Women get advantage of their hormones. But this does not mean that it does not harm women. There is an increased risk of heart problem after menopause in women.
Also Read: World No Tobacco Day 2020: 8 Ways To Tackle Tobacco Addiction As Per Ayurveda
Need To Intervene – Dr Dora
Usually, there can be many causes of heart diseases like diabetes, high blood pressure, etc., which are a little challenging to control. But smoking-related heart disease can be prevented. Apart from this, the children of schools and colleges should be informed about the ill-effects of tobacco for it is readily available, and its misuse is easy to happen. Government policy should be firm, and people should be punished. It is also the responsibility of the doctor to change the habits of his patient. Dr Dora says that tobacco addiction can be controlled through nicotine patches as nicotine is not as potent as nitrosamine and carbon monoxide. With the help of nicotine, the harmful chemical can be kept away from the patient, and the patches of nicotine can be reduced gradually as per the need of the patient.
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