He tobacco is a plant Native to the American continent that has large leaves, flowers arranged in a cluster and a fruit that houses numerous seeds. Pertaining to Solanaceae , is characterized by being a narcotic plant thanks to the presence of nicotine.
The leaf of the plant and the product obtained from it are also known as tobacco. Importantly, tobacco is stimulating : can increase blood pressure and generate tachycardia. In addition, by the substances it contains, it can cause addiction .
Typically, tobacco is consumed wrapped in paper, forming a cigar or cigarette . The consumer must light one end of it and put the other end in the mouth, then aspirate and make the tobacco combustion. The last step is to exhale the smoke.
Tobacco is usually defined as a legal drug , since most of the countries It allows its sale. However, since its consumption causes serious damage to health, its commercialization is usually restricted.
Smoking can cause pulmonary emphysema , chronic bronchitis and Cancer , among other diseases . That is why there is a paradox: while the State authorizes the sale and consumption of tobacco legally, it develops campaigns to discourage its consumption. This particularity does not occur with other drugs whose commercialization is prohibited due to their health effects.
The ban on smoking in public spaces such as restaurants and bars and the obligation to include messages about the harmful effects of tobacco on cigarette boxes are some of the measures taken by the authorities to minimize their consumption.
We know that tobacco smoke travels a large number of chemicals that can cause harm both smokers and those around them; However, this fact does not lead many people to look around before lighting a cigarette. The reason why campaigns do not stop is that tobacco is much more harmful than we think: it is enough to breathe a small portion of smoke to suffer some of its consequences.
Put in numbers, they are more than 7000 the substances found in tobacco smoke, and it is known that 250 of them are harmful for our Health ; In this last group we find carbon monoxide, ammonia and hydrogen cyanide. As if that were not enough, of these 250 we know that, at least 69 of them can cause cancer , as with the following: acetaldehyde, arsenic, beryllium, vinyl chloride, cadmium, formaldehyde, nickel and polonium-210.
In addition to being the first cause of cancer, smoking tobacco causes damage to almost all organs and systems of the body, as well as weakening overall health. But when talking about tobacco and cancer, we should not only think about lungs It also causes cancer of the esophagus, mouth, kidney, larynx, throat, liver, bladder, stomach, pancreas, cervix, colon and rectum. We must not ignore acute myeloid leukemia, another consequence of this vice.
Out of the different types of cancer, tobacco causes chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes, stroke, rheumatoid arthritis, cataracts, osteoporosis and aneurysm of the aorta, among other disorders. On the other hand, it is very harmful for asthma sufferers and increases risks of surfing respiratory tract infections such as tuberculosis and pneumonia. For non-smokers who are exposed to smoke involuntarily, the consequences can be fatal; for example, increase up to 30% The chances of suffering from heart disease or suffering from stroke can alter the development of the fetus and increases the risk of sudden infant death.
