10
Myths that Undermine Tobacco Control
In the United States and Canada
smoking is the leading cause of preventable death. Even though the health risks
are documented and outlined, there are still many myths that encourage people
to start or continue smoking. These
myths are caused by a misunderstanding of what seems to be common sense and a
deliberate influence from the tobacco industry that mainly targets children to
start smoking and keep them smoking into adulthood.
Comprehensive tobacco control programs
which include anti–smoking public education can help prevent the undermine of
the tobacco company but yet smoking is still prominent in today society and is
growing in developing countries and among women. To keep these individuals smoking many myths
are believed to be true by many smokers, physicians and policy makers.
Myth 1: People have a free choice whether or not to smoke
We like to believe that we are all
capable of making our own decisions.
However in 2002 the tobacco industry has spent $12.5 billion on advertising
cigarettes in the United States which is roughly 18 times the amount that is
spent on tobacco prevention. These
advertisements encourage people to smoke particularly the youth and demographic
subgroups.
Even nowadays the tobacco industry is
still targeting people from movies such as: the girl with the dragon tattoo,
Inglorious bastards, fight club and etc. The goal of the tobacco industry is to make
smoking look cool and they’re doing a good job of it by having the most famous
people in Hollywood smoking.
Most smokers want to quit when they’re
26 but the tobacco industry ensures there enough nicotine in cigarettes to keep
them addictive and refers to cigarettes as the “nicotine delivery device”. In
order to keep people addictive the tobacco industry uses production methods
where they add chemical additives and may increase the amounts of nicotine.
Myth 2: Everyone knows how bad smoking is
People are generally aware that
smoking is not healthy. But there are instances of unawareness such as: very
few women know that smoking can lead to cervical cancer, osteoporosis, early
menopause, miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy and infertility. In Canada fewer than
half Canadian adults between the ages of 55 to 74 identified smoking as the
leading cause of heart disease.
In China, 90% of the smoker population
is male and fewer than 1 in 4 people think that smoking causes serious health
problems. This is because Chinese born males who have little knowledge about
smoking are twice as likely to smoke verses someone who is high informed about
smoking.
Myth 3: Just a few cigarettes a day cannot hurt
Even 3 to 5 cigarettes a day can lead
to tobacco related illnesses and death.
Diseases such as myocardial infraction, coronary heart disease are not
linear with smoking; even small doses of tobacco smoke can increase your
chances of catching these diseases rapidly. Pregnant women who smoke as few as
5 cigarettes a day are more likely to have a low birth weight baby.
Myth 4: Light Cigarettes are less harmful
Light cigarettes are just as harmful
as regular cigarettes, but yet 60% of smokers believe that light cigarettes
refer to low tar or low nicotine cigarettes. Light cigarettes are less harmful
based only on machine testing; however, they actually
have the same content as the regular cigarettes, when smoked by an actual
person.
What usually happens when someone
smokes lighter cigarettes is that they begin to smoke more of them to satisfy
their nicotine craving which will lead to more tar, carbon monoxide and
nicotine being absorbed in their system.
Myth 5: It’s easy to stop smoking; if people want to quit, they
will
Many smokers are able to stop on their
own but many find it difficult or near impossible to quit. Even doctors found
smoking hard to quit. Tobacco is about as addictive as heroin, cocaine and
alcohol in addiction potential.
The benefits of quitting smoking are
well documented and many people who actually want to quit will make several
attempts before actually quitting. However most smokers want to quit but only
make 1 attempt a year. Of those who try to quit smoking, only 7% last a year or
longer without medication, aid or assistance.
Myth 6: Cessation Medication Don’t Work
Smoking cessation medication or NRT
(Nicotine Replacement Therapy) such as patches, gum, nasal spray, lozenge and
bupropion can double the likely hood of quitting smoking. Using multiple NRT methods will increase your
chances of quitting. Retreatment to a failed NRT course will increase the
likeliness you will quit. So don’t give up!
Myth 7: Once a Smoke always a Smoker
The Million people who are former
smokers are living proof this isn’t true. It isn’t impossible to quit and set
back some of the negative effects of smoking.
Myth 8: Tobacco is good for the economy
Tobacco industries argue that they
create employment, raise tax revenue and contribute to the national gross
domestic product. But the long term social costs of tobacco outweigh any
economic benefit. The World Bank found
money not spent on cigarettes could be spent on other goods and services that
in turn would generate other jobs and activities that would replace the tobacco
industry’s benefits.
In the United States smoking causes an
economic loss of about 167 billion a year.
This includes health care and productivity due to premature death. This is more than the 81 billion that smokers
spend on cigarettes per year.
Myth 9: We’ve already solved the Tobacco problem
The problems caused by tobacco use are
far from solved, despite the declining amount of smokers in Canada. It is said
that more than 1 in 5 Canadians smoke and globally about 1.3 billion people
smoke. More than 1 billion of those
people will die from a tobacco related disease in this century.
Myth 10: The tobacco industry no longer markets to kids and
undermines public health efforts
Cigarette company go out their way to
advertise to children because the younger they start the more dependent they
will become on nicotine and the less likely they will quit when there an
adult. The tobacco industry advertises
by having magazine ads, television ads and even giving away free things such as
t-shirts and caps. Smoking in movies is
one of the biggest ways they advertise to young teens.
The tobacco industry employs lawyers,
scientists and public effort experts to help divert attention from global
health issues. They create distorted
scientific studies, infer with politics and in 2005 they filed a lawsuit to
stop public health advertising campaigns that they claimed were anti–industry.
Conclusions:
Many myths that surround smoking are
misunderstood. Most don’t realize the true effects tobacco has on the person
and the economy. While government
agencies and public agencies must take lead, the health care system,
businesses, insurers, communities and individuals play an important role in
tobacco control.
Reference:
When it comes down to it, it is up to the smoker to quit smoking. However, through the provision of support and consideration you can assist a friend as they work towards quitting. How can help you help? For starters, the best thing to do requires listening to and encouraging your friend. It is very difficult to quit smoking so be sure to let your friend know that you understand that. Remember that smoking causes addiction and that most people who begin to quit smoking will experience physical withdrawal symptoms that can last from 48 hours to up to four weeks! Be extra supportive for your friend during this time and remind them that these symptoms are only temporary and will eventually pass.
A good thing to do is the avoid places that allow smoking. This helps your friend to resist the urge to smoke! Though if your friend does slip and starts smoking again, be sure to continuously encourage them! You can remind them that most people who stay smoke free have tried numerous times until they were completely successful. You can look at what got your friend to start smoking again and work towards avoiding it. Then make sure to celebrate your friend’s success when they become smoke-free! You can even send your friend an e-card to inspire them to quit smoking! 
