Health Effects Of Chewing Tobacco

Warning: Your cigarette package is about to scare you

When I prescribe a new medication for a patient, I attempt to give them an overview of the medication, including its mechanism, benefits, and potential adverse effects. Not infrequently, the same patient who agrees in the office to take the new medicine will return a few days later refusing to take it, petrified of the side effects they read about on the Internet. I have always wondered why those same patients who refuse to take a relatively benign medication will completely ignore the adverse effects of the cigarette they put in their mouth 20 times a day. That may be about to change.

Last week the FDA announced changes to the health warnings on cigarette packaging and advertisements effective September 2012. The new warnings will replace the Surgeon General's Warning that currently appears on cigarette packs, cartons, and print ads (smokeless tobacco seems to have escaped this new regulation). According to the FDA's website, the new graphic photos are intended to increase awareness of specific health risks associated with smoking, encourage smokers to quit, and empower youth to say no to tobacco. They are expected to have a significant public health impact by decreasing the incidence of smoking and its associated morbidity, mortality, and health care costs. The nine photos that will be used were selected out of a group of 36 proposed images following research on their effectiveness at communicating the message and a public comment period. The images will comprise 50% of the front and rear panels of each package and will be accompanied by simple statements describing the dangers of smoking.

Initially, I was skeptical about these new photos and their accompanying messages but I have been so impressed by the Idaho and Montana Meth Projects' graphic advertising campaigns that I think it just may work. Instead of pretty colors and exotic animals, smokers will be faced with photos of babies exposed to cigarette smoke, cancerous oral lesions, and sick versus healthy lungs, among other pictures. Each warning will be accompanied by the 1-800-QUIT-NOW phone number so smokers have access to cessation resources even as they reach for a cigarette.

I hope these new packaging images will be especially beneficial in reducing teenage smoking rates and discouraging first-time, youth smokers. Kids are often very responsive to gross photos.

The Effects of Cigar Smoking on Your Health cigarcologne.com-cigar ...

The Effects of Cigar Smoking on Your Health

We have all heard of the risks associated with smoking cigarettes, but what are the risks of cigar smoking?  Are the risks of smoking cigars just as dangerous, or more so?  According to the National Cancer Instituted, regular cigar smoking can result in a major health threat.  Scientific research has linked cigar smoking with cancers of the larynx, lungs, esophagus, and oral cavity.  Newer research also indicates that cigar smoking may be strongly linked to the development of cancer in the pancreas.  Doctors also caution that individuals who regularly inhale while enjoying a cigar are also at greater risk of developing lung disease and heart problems. The health threats of cigar smoking appear to increase dramatically in those individuals who smoke regularly and inhale while smoking.  Someone who smokes three to four cigars each day will him or herself at eight times the risk of developing some kind of oral cancer than a nonsmoker.  Unfortunately, we do not yet know the health risks of smoking the occasional cigar.  It seems clear however that smoking cigars on a daily basis can pose serious health risks.   Many individuals wonder if cigars are as addictive as cigarettes. Many wonder why, for instance, so many people become addicted to cigarettes, and not cigars?  The truth is that any tobacco product can become addictive because it contains nicotine.  Witness the effects of smokeless tobacco products on individuals.  These products, such as chewing tobacco, can become very addictive, simply because they contain tobacco, which in turn contains nicotine.  Many cigar smokers do not inhale deeply, thus causing the nicotine to be inhaled superficially.  Cigarette smokers tend to inhale, causing the nicotine to be absorbed faster and more readily by the lungs.  Even though most cigar smokers inhale the nicotine more superficially, it is still possible to become addicted if the user smokes cigars on a regular basis.   If nicotine is so addictive, why don't more cigar smokers smoke more often?  It appears that more people avoid becoming 'hooked' on cigars for several reasons.  The most obvious reason is that the nicotine is inhaled much more superficially than in regular cigarette smoking, causing less nicotine to be absorbed by the body.  Also, cigars are not as readily accessible as cigarettes.  They are viewed by most as a luxury item, saved for special occasions and used infrequently.  However, when cigars are smoked on a regular basis, they can become addictive.  The health risks of any kind of smoking increase dramatically as frequency of use increases.

Smokeless tobacco or health, an international perspective

Preventing Tobacco Use Among Young People, A Report of the Surgeon General

Health and Wellness

Smokeless Tobacco Or Health, An International Perspective

The scientific basis of tobacco product regulation, report of a WHO Study Group