May 31 is World Tobacco Cessation Day. Every year 6 million people die from diseases associated with smoking in the world, of which 400 thousand are in Russia. It is no secret that it is very difficult to quit smoking on your own. This is not just an addiction, but a serious addiction. How to deal with it?
Quitting smoking once and for all is difficult, but doable. And so that - as usual - not wait for Monday, you can and should start today. World Tobacco Day was proclaimed exactly 30 years ago by the World Health Organization (WHO), over the years, a huge number of people around the world have been able to put out their last cigarette and have never lit a new one again.
“You have to understand that nicotine is a well-studied psychoactive substance that acts on the brain, causing all those neurotransmitter problems that cause all other psychoactive substances,” explains Oleg Kutushev, head of the center for the prevention of tobacco and non-chemical addictions at the Moscow Scientific and Practical Center for Addictions.
But in order to fight the enemy, you need to know everything about him. First, smoking is not just a habit, but a really heavy addiction. It is not always possible to cope with it on your own. Dry statistics say: only 5% of all smokers quit smoking on their own. Smoking contributes to the development of diseases of the cardiovascular and pulmonary systems, and also leads to oncology. 400 thousand people in Russia alone die annually from diseases associated with smoking, in the world this figure reaches six million. It's impossible to smoke and stay healthy, the international medical community says.
"There is no safe smoking, no safe smoking! Of course, the effect of smoking depends on the dose, the more cigarettes a day a person smokes, the higher the risk of lung cancer, in particular," says David Zaridze.
The fight against smoking is a complex of measures. First of all, informational - such as the promotion of a healthy lifestyle. Smoking is no longer fashionable today. All over the world, so-called anti-tobacco laws are being introduced that restrict smoking areas and also increase the average cost of a pack of cigarettes. In Russia, such a law came into force exactly 4 years ago.
"Since the introduction of the restrictive law on the use of tobacco, the number of Russian smokers has decreased by more than 10%. Today this figure is estimated at around 28-30%, this is the number of people who are actively smoking today," said the adviser to the general director of the Federal State Budgetary Institution NMITs radiology "Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation Dmitry Borisov.
According to experts, the law is more aimed at those who have not previously smoked, but could start, for example, adolescents, as well as those who have recently become addicted to an addiction, such people can really quit smoking very painlessly. While for avid tobacco lovers, who, by the way, are primarily at risk, the adoption of the law did not become a reason to quit.
“Unfortunately, a heavily smoker, basically, for the most part, they do not consider themselves sick and patients. And for the most part they will not go to the doctor to quit smoking, that is, very few do it, and step over the pharmacy threshold in order to buy a nicotine patch, someone will do it, but a person must understand that this is an addiction, this is a disease. People who are not ready to do this, they should have access to something that will destroy their health less ", - Dmitry Borisov notes …
It is about informing experienced smokers about the availability of alternative nicotine delivery systems, such as vapes and electronic cigarettes, heated tobacco. In ordinary cigarettes, tobacco burns at very high temperatures, which leads to the formation of combustion products - the very carcinogens that inflict the most severe blow on health, in alternative versions of tobacco either there is no tobacco at all, only nicotine, or the tobacco is heated in them, but not is burning. Of course, you cannot call them useful, but, as they say, the lesser of two evils is chosen.
"Now there are new, so to speak, types, electronic systems for the delivery of nicotine. In principle, I do not recommend switching to them, this is as a last resort, if a person who smokes in general cannot quit smoking, these electronic systems for the delivery of nicotine, electronic cigarettes and other similar devices, they are less dangerous, they are less carcinogenic, at least than ordinary cigarettes, "says David Zaridze.
Alas, even the most complete information about the consequences of prolonged smoking is not always sufficient motivation for a complete quit. Sergey Knyazev from Cheboksary was convinced of this, in the past he was a smoker with 16 years of experience, and today he is the head of an Internet project that helps to put an end to his smoking absolutely free of charge.
"Conventionally, smoking cessation can be divided into two parts, there is smoking cessation itself, and there is - how not to break down. Quitting smoking is very simple. There are a sufficient number of drugs, using which, you really quit, and you do not want to smoke the first two - three weeks. And then psychologically problems are already included, that is, smoking can be considered as a series of social connections, we smoke with colleagues, we smoke with friends, and now, when you quit smoking, these connections begin to suffer and break, that is, you you can no longer get the same pleasure from life as before ", - former smoker Sergei Knyazev shares his experience.
In fact, it only seems so to a former smoker. In the fight against smoking, a person will always be helped by special help groups and specialized doctors: psychologists, psychotherapists and narcologists. Drug therapy should not be neglected: nicotine patches and special preparations have a proven effect over the years. There are hundreds of free tobacco dependence prevention centers in Russia, all you need is to decide for yourself that tobacco has no place in your life. May 31 is the most suitable day to quit smoking and part with this bad habit forever. Well, those who cannot make such a cardinal decision should turn to specialists or try to reduce the risks to their health by switching to less harmful alternative products.