According to research, the number of cigarette and tobacco users worldwide has risen to 1.1 billion, breaking an all-time record. The number of people who have lost their lives due to diseases related to cigarettes and tobacco has reached 7.7 million. Turkey is among the 10 countries that account for two-thirds of global consumption. If the number of people starting to smoke does not decrease, it is observed that the tobacco epidemic will continue for many years. Cigarette and tobacco addiction, which is a treatable brain disease, causes mass mortality. Therefore, smoking cessation treatments hold an important place within national health programs.
What Is Cigarette and Tobacco Addiction?
Cigarette and tobacco addiction, in other words, is a treatable brain disease. Tobacco products are used quite widely in all countries, affecting the user and the people around him with nicotine smoke. However, within the last 50–60 years, during which the negative health effects of tobacco use have been demonstrated, significant changes have occurred in various countries regarding tobacco addiction. During this period, while tobacco product use has shown a declining trend especially in developed countries, tobacco addiction is increasing in developing countries.
For example; while more than half of the adult population in England had a tobacco addiction 50–60 years ago, today this figure has dropped to around 20 percent. Although a similar trend has been observed in most developed countries, in our country, tobacco addiction increased by around 80 percent in the 1980s and 1990s. In 2001, 2% of the cigarettes in the world and 14% of the cigarettes in our region were smoked in our country. According to two studies representing our country on tobacco addiction, the 1988 PIAR Study revealed that 62.8% of men, 24.3% of women, and 43.6% of the total society had a tobacco addiction; and according to the 1993 BIGTAS Study, 57.8% of men, 13.5% of women, and 33.6% of the total society had a tobacco addiction.
With these rates of cigarette addiction, Turkey is among the countries in Europe where tobacco is smoked the most among men. Cigarette and tobacco addiction also increases rapidly as the education levels and status of individuals rise. Although tobacco use and tobacco addiction in the age group of 15 and over in Turkey are still high compared to developed countries, a notable decrease has been observed over the last 15-year period. In studies conducted to represent the general country, tobacco addiction among men fell from 58% in 1993 to 48% in 2008.
As for cigarette and addiction in women, although it is slightly lower, there has been a slight decrease after 2003. However, there are still around 20 million people with cigarette addiction in our country, and with this figure, Turkey ranks as the tenth country consuming the most tobacco among the countries of the world. Tobacco addiction among youth is also quite widespread in Turkey. Numerous studies conducted on students aged 13–17 regarding this issue have found frequency values ranging between 0.9 and 41 percent.
According to the results of the Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS) conducted in 2003 in cooperation with the World Health Organization, it was determined that 33.1% of boys and 22.3% of girls among students aged 13–16 had smoked cigarettes at some point in their lives. 9.1% of male students and 5.0% of female students stated that they were smoking cigarettes at the date the study was conducted. The negative effects of tobacco addiction are not limited only to those who smoke; serious health problems also occur in those who are passively affected by cigarette smoke. Various studies have revealed that 60-80% of homes have at least one person with a tobacco addiction.
It is a proven fact that tobacco is one of the most important factors leading to leukemia, cancers of the lip, mouth, tongue, larynx, esophagus, pancreas, kidney, and bladder, chronic bronchitis and emphysema, coronary heart disease, and cerebrovascular disease, especially lung cancer. Despite this, tobacco addiction continues to kill masses in an epidemic. Currently, 4 million people worldwide die each year due to nicotine addiction and lose 22 years of their lives. Globally, tobacco alone is at the forefront of the causes causing the most deaths. It is estimated that in 2030, cigarettes will kill 10 million people per year due to tobacco addiction, with at least half of them being between the ages of 35-69. In 2030, developing countries will be responsible for 70% of all tobacco deaths in the world. Many deaths and numerous diseases can be reduced simply by preventing tobacco addiction.
What Are the Symptoms of Cigarette and Tobacco Addiction?
Cigarette and tobacco addiction manifests itself with different symptoms in each individual. For a person to be considered a tobacco addict, he must have exhibited at least two of the following symptoms within a period of 1 year;
- An intense desire and a feeling of an irresistible urge to use cigarettes
- Spending more effort and time than necessary to obtain and use nicotine
- Not being willing to reduce or quit smoking even though the harms of cigarette use are known
- The efforts made to quit smoking yielding no results
- Disruptions experienced in social life as a result of cigarette use (disrupting responsibilities within the family, at school, or at work)
- Increasing the amount of tobacco due to the amount of nicotine taken being insufficient
How Is Cigarette and Tobacco Addiction Treated?
The first step in cigarette and tobacco cessation treatment is to motivate the person regarding quitting tobacco and to help him. Different treatment methods are available for quitting smoking. Nicotine replacement therapy and bupropion are the two most important treatment methods among these. Nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) is a suitable treatment form in tobacco cessation with its effect of reducing the urge to smoke and tobacco withdrawal states. Medications used for NRT are; nicotine patch, nicotine gum, nasal spray, tablet, and inhaler. Among these medications, only nicotine gum and nicotine patch are used widely. They are also cost-effective. There are situations where the use of these medications is not appropriate. These situations are; a recently passed heart attack, unstable angina, and commonly seen skin diseases such as hives. Non-medication treatment methods are also applied. These methods consist of hypnosis and acupuncture treatment methods. Quitting smoking has some side effects. These allergic reactions manifest themselves as dry mouth, insomnia, rash, and itching on the skin.
