GROWING up, I always saw my late grandpa, Hilbert Spence, smoking something out of his old wooden pipe. Out of fascination and pure innocence, I have always wondered what was in that magical pipe. Little Marissa imagined grandpa as a dragon because of how the smoke left his mouth with ease. He always ensured to stay far away from me when he did this. Nonetheless, that was my first encounter with tobacco and little did I know it’s more common than my seven-year-old mind thought. This ancient plant can be dated back to 6000 BC- mind blowing right? It was used by the Indigenous peoples for religious and medical practices and was only native to the Americas until the Europeans came to the new world. The Europeans soon started to smoke tobacco and it was present in EVERY European nation. They planted large tobacco As the years went by, this practice led to the popular cigars and cigarette industries. Tobacco can also be chewed or sniffed.

May 31 is observed as ‘No Tobacco Day’. This is being observed to promote 24hrs of abstinence of all tobacco-related products. Tobacco is produced by curing the leaves of the tobacco plant. Smoking tobacco exposes one’s body to 7000 toxic chemicals. It is a risk for unborn babies if their mothers smoke while they are pregnant, they can be exposed to lung diseases and cancers. ‘Chainsmokers’ or regular smokers can lose up to 10-11 years of their life by using tobacco. Apart from that, second-hand smoke (smoke inhaled voluntarily from tobacco being smoked by others). PAHO reported that ‘tobacco is responsible for seven million deaths per year worldwide’. Over 15 percent of Guyanese adults smoke tobacco and more worrying is the14.8 percent of adolescence that smoke tobacco.

The National Tobacco Act was implemented in Guyana in July 2017. This is one of many initiatives the Government and Guyanese citizens are implementing. In fact, our Control Act is one of the most completed in all of the Americas. It provides for 100 percent smoke-free zones, a ban on all advertising of tobacco, health warnings on packages and a ban on the sale of tobacco to minors. “Tobacco is the only industry that produces to make huge profits and at the same time damage the health and kill their consumers,” said Margret Chan. The first step of prevention starts with yourself turning down the pressure of friends/family to smoke. You can encourage people you know who do smoke to seek professional help and educate others on the terrible effects tobacco and smoking have on one’s life. “Ministry of Health warns: Smoking is dangerous for your health” is a message that is there for a reason on the packages of cigarettes, we should take heed to it.