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Mass media role imperative for making country free of tobacco

Published : Sunday, 28 April, 2024 at 12:00 AM  Count : 424
Md Sazedul Islam
Mass media because of its massive influence in our society can play a significant role in controlling tobacco. Highlighting the negative effects caused by tobacco, anti-tobacco messages disseminated by mass media can persuade people to leave the bad habit.  

Mass media are defined as channels of communication such as television, radio, newspapers, the internet, billboards, posters, leaflets or booklets intended to reach large numbers of people. The purpose of mass media campaign must be to encourage smokers to quit and maintain abstinence in non-smokers. The campaign could be carried out alone or in conjunction with tobacco control programmes.

Tobacco use is a leading preventable cause of disease, death and disability worldwide. The use of tobacco products is harmful to public health, the economy and the environment. Despite various anti-tobacco steps by different stakeholders, Bangladesh is one of the top ten tobacco consuming countries in the world.
    
The mass media can build awareness of the harmful health impact of tobacco use; motivate smokers to quit; build awareness of the dangers of second hand smoke; change attitudes and beliefs of smokers about smoking and quitting; contribute to changes in tobacco-related behaviour; reduce tobacco use and reduce exposure to second hand smoke.

According to American Lung Association, "there are approximately 600 ingredients in cigarettes. When burned, cigarettes create more than 7,000 chemicals. At least 69 of these chemicals are known to cause cancer, and many are toxic".

Known as harmful to health, cigarettes release a large number of harmful chemicals after combustion. And those toxic chemicals are the main sources of smokers medical conditions. Among them, carbon monoxide, cigarette tar and nicotine are most familiar to us.  

Experts said, cigarette tar is proved to be the biggest source of most health problems. It contains a tremendous amount of cancer-causing substances. The tar in cigarette smoke can cause cancer (most commonly lung cancer), and other serious diseases related to the lungs and airways. When inhaling, about 70 per cent of the tar stays in the lungs. The most common situation is that cigarette tar harms our lungs, skin and mouth. Over time, it worsens our health conditions as more cigarettes we smoke. Cigarette tar is sticky and builds up in smokers lungs as more and more cigarettes they smoke.

Experts observed that when toxic components of cigarette tar enter the dermis of the skin, reactive oxygen and free radicals are produced. These restrict the production of elastin and collagen, which causes a series of skin problems. Whats more, cigarette tar will discolour your teeth and lead to gum health issues, periodontal diseases and so on. And the skin of your nails and fingers can be stained. If you find your skin less elastic or your teeth yellow, you e advised to cease to smoke in case your skin and oral health worsen. Besides, your immune response to harmful bacteria in the mouth will be lowered. You e more likely to develop skin and oral cancer.

Nicotine is another risky factor. Tobacco is a plant grown for its leaves, which are smoked, chewed, or sniffed. Tobacco contained chemical called nicotine, which is an addictive substance. Nicotine harms our brain and diminishes our overall health. It leads to some health problems like headache, nervousness, fast heartbeat, etc. Nicotine damages the nervous system and causes vasoconstriction and central nervous system excitation. As a result, it led to atherosclerosis and increased blood pressure and heart rate. Cigarette smoking leads to strong nicotine cravings. When nicotine enters the bloodstream, it stimulates the adrenal glands to release the adrenalin. Then the adrenalin excites the central nervous system, which makes your heart beat fast and gives rise to high blood pressure.

Smokers love the joy and happiness brought by nicotine and then become addicted to it. So, nicotine is the main reason that smokers can quit smoking.

It may concern females how nicotine will harm their skin. Nicotine would lower female hormones, constrict blood vessels and slow down the metabolism by lowering skin temperature. Furthermore, nicotine is found in saliva, blood, urine and breast milk. Nursing mothers can pass on nicotine to their babies. So nicotine can also harm babies health. And the higher level of nicotine may even cause poisoning and death.

Nicotine in tobacco can be addictive like alcohol, cocaine and morphine. Because of nicotine, tobacco users gradually head towards addiction to drugs.

Different studies said that smoking is the gateway to drug addiction. Youths take to the path of drug addiction through smoking. Later, they start the habit of different drugs. Drug addiction brings trouble to our society and the state. Hence, experts say that it is possible to reduce drug addiction if smoking and tobacco use can be minimized.                           

According to the Global Adult Tobacco Survey 2017, 35.3% of adults over the age of 15 in the country use tobacco products (smoking and smokeless), of which 46% are men and 25.2% are women. Many people are indirectly affected by second hand smoking in various public places.

Tobacco use in Bangladesh, both in smoked and smokeless forms, constitute a major health hazard and has wide-ranging impacts on the economy and productivity of our nation. Due to tobacco related diseases, annually more than 1,61,000 people die (Tobacco Atlas 2018, 6th Edition) and nearly 400,000 people became disable (WHO 2004). Treatment of tobacco related diseases is a burden for affected individuals and their family members, as well as severe burden for national economy.

Committed to controlling the use of tobacco products, Bangladesh declared to make the country tobacco free by 2040. If the mass media play responsible role with anti-tobacco messages in their contents regularly, it would help us to achieve the goal of tobacco-free country by the time.

It is hoped that the mass media would come forward to highlight the tobacco-related issues, mentioned above, in national interest.    
              
The writer is a freelance journalist


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