THE smoking of cigarettes often passes as vogue and cool, or an escape from the troubles of life, but not many know that continued consumption is a long journey to a slow and painful death.
In Guyana, no data has been made public on how many persons die from smoking every year, but according to the World health Organisation (WHO), tobacco kills more than half of its users.The WHO has identified the tobacco epidemic as one of the biggest public health threats the world has ever faced. It kills some six million people a year.

More than five million of those deaths are the result of direct tobacco use while more than 600, 000 are the result of non-smokers being exposed to second-hand smoke, the United Nations health organisation said.
It also noted that tobacco users who die prematurely deprive their families of income, raise the cost of health care and hinder economic development.
In Guyana, efforts begun a few years ago to craft and approve a tobacco control legislation and much work was done, but the bill is yet to be tabled in the National Assembly.
But encouragingly, Public Health Minister Dr George Norton and Minister within the Public Health Minister Dr Karen Cummings have both committed to have the legislation tabled and passed in the National Assembly.
The legislation among other things seeks to make all enclosed spaces, public places, work place and public transportation smoke free areas; ban tobacco promotion and sponsorship; ensure clear graphic warning on all tobacco products with the warning picture being 50 per cent of the cigarette package; and ban selling cigarettes by and to minors.
Regional Advisor on Tobacco Control at the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) headquarters in Washington DC, Dr Adriana Blanco told the Guyana Chronicle that if possible, the Guyana government should also increases taxes on Tobacco.
YOUNG SMOKERS
According to the Global Youth Tobacco Survey, 21 per cent of students aged 13-15 smoke or had smoked in Guyana.
In September, PAHO Country Representative Dr Williams Adu-Krow speaking at the observance of Wellness Week held under the theme “Smoking Kills: Pass the Tobacco Law for Healthy Parks and Healthy People,” said about 50 per cent of the local population are smokers, and about 30 per cent of the homes here have smokers.
According to Blanco, men in Guyana smoke much more than women but pointed out that in some countries in the region the gap is narrowing.
In Chile and Uruguay, she told this publication that girls smoke more than boys and this is so because the packaging of cigarettes is now more appealing to women.
Dr Blanco said it is very important for Guyana to pass the tobacco control legislation, pointing out that it does not seek to ban tobacco but to regulate the industry.

According to the PAHO expert, if passed, the legislation will be the most advanced in the region. Smoking, among others, causes coughs, colds, asthma, pneumonia, stroke, heart diseases and lung cancer.
Dr Blanco who was part of the public consultation on the legislation believes that if it passed, there will be a tangible reduction in the disease burden and cost of treatment on the local health sector.
Veteran Sport Journalist Michael De Silva, a chain smoker, who is on the verge of quitting the ‘bad habit’ and Educator Vibert Hart, who has quitted more than a decade ago, say they firmly support Dr Blanco’s view.
And they too have jointed the call for the passage of anti-tobacco legislation.
There is no single situation that caused persons to smoke but once a person gets into smoking, the possibility of them getting addicted to the habit is high.
De Silva, 60, began smoking at age 32. He related to this publication that it was never his intention to put a cigarette in his mouth, but it all started when he had a terrible issue in a personal relationship. Smoking, he said provided a temporary escape from the grief that burdens his mind.
“At first, I used to go on the seawall and smoke. Then I stopped and used to the night clubs with friends and they were smokers and I got stuck into the habit of smoking. For all those years, up until last year, I used to smoke about 50 cigarettes per day. I had to smoke after every meal, when I visit the toilet; it was the first thing in the morning and the last thing in the night,” the veteran journalist said.
TOOK ILL
In 2014, a weakened De Silva took ill and on a visit to the doctor, he said he was told that his “body cells were taking over his lungs” and needs to drastically reduce the intake of tobacco.
For him, he said it was a difficult thing for him to do since for years he has been a chain smoker and did not know how to stop.
But he said, he has a daughter who is 13 and wants to live to see her attend the University of Guyana (UG) and enjoy a good life. And this is what pushed him to seriously take the doctor’s advice.
“The warning from the doctor caused a lot of worry in my immediate family. I daughter would constantly remind me that smoking is dangerous to my health. She memorised an advertisement on television and used to constantly repeat it to me and would hid and throw away my cigarettes,” De Silva said.
But this has not caused him to quit, at least as yet, but he has managed to significantly cut down on the number of cigarettes he smokes from 50 per day to not more than 12 today.
On becoming ill, De Silva has learnt that second hand smoke is dangerous to health and no longer smokes in the presence of his family or others close by.
The WHO said in adults, second-hand smoke causes serious cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, including coronary heart disease and lung cancer. In infants, it causes sudden death and in pregnant women, low birth weight.
De Silva is happy that he has significantly scaled down on smoking and said he intends to quit in the next two months.

Reflecting on his addiction, the father of three said cigarettes in his early days were cheap and they are still cheap today, and the government needs to look at this if they intend to curb smoking among youths and adults.
Hart, 69, who quitted smoking at age 45, told this publication that it is never too late to quit smoking. A seasoned education, he related that he began smoking at age 19. At the time he was a young teacher and his Head of Department used to smoke.
FROM ONE TO MANY
“From one cigarette became two, and from two became four and from four the number became greater. From age 19 to 45, I used to smoke a pack of cigarette per day. I used to be a collector of ash trays, but today, there is no sign of them in my house and my yard,” he said.
Hart related that he quitted in 1998 on Guyana’s Independence anniversary celebrations which were held at the National Park.
“I did not even finish the cigarette when I threw it way,” the education said, relating that one of his friends died from smoking, and he did not want to suffer a similar fate.
Today, Hart said he is very intolerant to persons smoking in his presence, as the stench from the smoke is difficult to bear. He apologises to the many persons whom he would have inconvenienced during his days of smoking and called on smokers to “free themselves of the bad habit”.
“I would advise persons who smoke to quit smoking. If you can’t do it on your own, seek help. You got to face and accept the truth. Smoking is dangerous to your health. Don’t burn your money on something that burns your life away or makes you suffer,” he advised.
The WHO said every person should be able to breathe tobacco-smoke-free air and smoke-free laws, protect the health of non-smokers, are popular, do not harm business and encourage smokers to quit.
Over 1.3 billion people, or 18 per cent of the world’s population, are protected by comprehensive national smoke-free laws, the UN body said.
And according to Dr Blanco, in countries where tobacco prevalence is not so high, there is more urgency in passing the legislation as much work on prevention can be done instead of waiting for a prevalence to occur in smoking to do something.

Here in Guyana, the Demerara Tobacco Company (DEMTOCO) has been engaged in a number of charitable activities. In April this year, the company in another section of the media said it will continue to engage openly on regulatory issues and support evidence-based regulation, marketing its products responsibly, fighting tobacco trafficking and reducing its environmental impact.
Guyana was among the first set of countries to sign on to the World Health Organisation Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) – a treaty which was adopted by the 56th World Health Assembly on May 21, 2003.
From the public pronouncements of Dr Norton and Dr Cummings, efforts to pass the tobacco control legislation seem encouraging.
“We have lagged behind, I have been advised that the final review of the legislation was conducted in preparation for tabling; hence, Dr Norton and I will be working assiduously to get the tobacco control bill passed,” Dr Cummings has said.

By Tajeram Mohabir