31 May is World No Tobacco Day

The Cancer Association of Namibia and their project partner, Namibia Health Plan (NHP), stated that Namibians should “stop smoking or die trying” – tying in with the importance of fighting the use of tobacco use in our own developing economy due to the many health issues that tobacco-use contributes to.Not only is lung cancer a possible byproduct of smoking, but heart disease, anxiety and high blood pressure, cholesterol and oral forms of cancer are caused by tobacco use as well.On 31 May, CAN and NHP challenge all Namibians to “turn their back as best they can and stop smoking or die trying”, trying their utmost to not make use of tobacco products on the day. All in a concerted effort to protect our health, reduce poverty and promote development.With an average incidence rate of 53 cases per annum on average from 2010 to 2014 (161 male and 105 female) and the latest processed data already indicating 85 cases for 2015 and 65 cases for 2016, lung cancer is on the rise in Namibia. According to the Namibian National Cancer Registry, administrated by the Cancer Association of Namibia, cancers of the lung, trachea and esophagus – most commonly associated with tobacco use – is one of the top five most prevalent forms of cancer in Namibia.Lung cancer has the highest fatality rate among both men and women in Namibia and worldwide too.The main cause of lung cancer is tobacco use - cigarettes, cigars and pipe; while hubbly-bubbly and secondhand smoke exposure increase the risk as well.Other serious health risks associated with smoking include (but are not limited to) damage to the heart and blood circulation, increased the risk of developing conditions such as coronary heart disease, heart attack, stroke, peripheral vascular disease and cerebrovascular disease.Attributes from smoking also include ugly yellow teeth and tooth decay, yellow fingers, smelly hair, wrinkly skin and even erectile dysfunction.High Cholesterol, anxiety and poor vision and even recurring colds and flu are all stimulated by tobacco and nicotine use.Tobacco smoke is very harmful to your health.There’s no safe way to smoke. Replacing your cigarette with a cigar, pipe, hookah or e-cigarette won’t help you avoid the health risks associated with tobacco products. Cigarettes contain about 600 ingredients and when they burn, they generate more than 7 000 chemicals.Many of those chemicals are poisonous and at least 69 of them can cause cancer. Cigars have a higher level of carcinogens, toxins, and tar than regular cigarettes. When using a hookah pipe, you’re likely to inhale more smoke than you would from a cigarette. Hookah smoke has many toxic compounds and exposes you to more carbon monoxide than cigarettes do. Hookahs also produce more secondhand smoke.Similarly, studies have shown that e-cigarettes are not at all as healthy as it was initially promoted to be.Tobacco is a risk factor for cancer - both in its smoked and chewed form, and in the form of oral snuff. Chewing the areca (betel) nut is a dominant risk factor for oral cancer in certain communities worldwide, including in Southern Africa. Pipe-smoking is a risk factor for lip cancers. It is essential to monitor amounts and types of alcohol and tobacco consumption by Namibians with particular cancers, so that risk factors specific to this population can be determined, and preventative programs instituted.Smoking and use of tobacco products is not only responsible for lung cancer, but a multitude of other cancer types too – these include (in relation to most common and prevalent in Namibia):Prostate Cancer Breast Cancer Cervical Cancer Nasal, Oral & Esophagus CancerBladder, Kidney & Pancreas CancersStomach, Colon & Rectal CancerFor more information, the Cancer Association of Namibia can be contacted on help@can.org.na or visited at www.can.org.na or 90 John Meinert Street, Windhoek West.

31 May is World No Tobacco Day

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31 May is World No Tobacco Day

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