Tobacco Addiction
Tobacco addiction: It is a chronic disease that affects brain cells and functions as well as the person’s health.
Tobacco products are widely used in several countries. The effect of smoke is not limited to the smoker, but it rather reaches persons around him (second-hand smokers)
In the last 50-60 years, the negative effects of smoking have become clear to the eye. For this reason several changes have been introduced to limit smoking addiction.
During this time, smoking addiction rate increases in third world countries and decreases in developed ones.
For example, in the UK, the percentage of smokers is 50 to 60 percent of the total mid-age individuals, however it decreased now to reach 20 percent.
In our country, addiction percentage has increased to reach 80% between the years 1980 and 1990 and in the year 2000 the percentage of smoking cigarettes has increased from 2% to 14%
Below are two studies that show the rate of addiction in our country:
In 1988 based on PİAR study: 62.8% of males, 24.3% of females and 43.6% of society in general have become addicts.
In 1993 based on BİGTAŞ study: 57.8% of males, 13.5% of females and 33.66% of society in general have become addicts.
Based on the male percentage, Turkey is one of the European countries that consume tobacco the most.
The more educated the person is, the higher the possibility he has to become a smoker gets.
The percentage of smokers aging above 15 years old in Turkey is high compared to developed countries nevertheless it has remarkably decreased in the last 15 years.
According to the studies conducted in Turkey, the percentage of tobacco addicts in 1993 was 58%, which saw a decline in 2008 to 48%.
Tobacco addiction in women is slightly lower than that of men after the slight decline that took place after 2003. However, there are still about 20 million people addicted to tobacco in the country, the thing that makes it number 10 on the list of tobacco largest consumers in the world.
In Turkey, the percentage of young people who are addicted to tobacco is high. A large majority of students who are addicted to tobacco age between 13 and 17 years old according to several studies conducted on them.
According to the World Youth Tobacco Survey conducted in collaboration with the World Health Organization in 2003, 33.1% of males and 22.3% of females aged 13-16 smoke during their lifetime. On the day the study was conducted, 9.1% of the male students and 5.0% of the students reported that they smoked on the day of the study.
0.9% to 41% The harmful effects of tobacco addiction are not limited to smokers alone, but serious health problems arise in people who are negatively affected by tobacco smoke.
In many studies, it has been found that 60-80% of families have at least one person addicted to tobacco.
Cigarette smoking is one of the most important factors leading to lung cancer, especially leukemia, lip, mouth, tongue, larynx, esophagus, pancreas, kidney and bladder cancer, chronic bronchitis, emphysema, heart disease and cerebrovascular disease.
However, tobacco addiction still kills its smokers as an epidemic. At present, 4 million people worldwide die each year from tobacco addiction and lose 22 years of their lives.
Tobacco alone is the leading cause of death in the world as a whole. It is estimated that by 2030, cigarettes will kill at least 10 million people every year because of tobacco dependence, that is half of addicts aged 35-69. In 2030, 70% of all world tobacco deaths in developing countries will be responsible. Many deaths and many diseases can be reduced only by preventing tobacco addiction.
