Young people believe that smoking is not risky

• April 28, 2024

Did you know that smoking is responsible for one in 10 deaths around the world? This was indicated by several studies published by the American magazine Scientific American.

Currently, more than 150 million adolescents consume tobacco, a figure that increases worldwide according to information from the World Health Organization. In Mexico, as in most of the world, about 85% of smokers start regular consumption of tobacco at very young ages, often before reaching 18 years of age.

According to the Survey on Smoking in Young People conducted and published by the National Addiction Center of Mexico, our country presents major challenges in terms of information on the risks of tobacco use, since 90.1% of current smokers say they could stop smoking. smoking if they wanted, which shows their ignorance about the intense addiction that cigarettes cause. Near to 10% think it is safe to smoke while it is done only for one or two years.

The reality is that the main cause of preventable deaths in most countries is the consumption of tobacco. Addiction that is associated with heart disease, lung cancer, cerebrovascular disease, among many others. The Ministry of Health reports that the earlier the consumption of cigarettes begins, the more likely they are to become addicted to nicotine and to suffer from illnesses.

Half of smokers regular that began in adolescence dies from an illness attributable to tobacco.

Chemicals in the cigar

There are more than 4 thousand chemicals that contain only one cigarette, here we present a short list of some chemicals (depending on the brand of cigarettes) that you usually consume if you are a moderate smoker according to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry:

- Ammonia: increases the levels of free nicotine in your body, it is also sometimes used to clean bathrooms.

-Carbon monoxide: Toxic gas colorless and insatiable.

-Benzopyrene: Hydrocarbon that after long periods of consumption, can trigger cellular disorders producing cancer.

-Arsenic: Also commonly used to create pesticides or as rat poison.

-Nickel: Metal also issued in air by the oil industry and in the combustion of motor vehicles.