People who pay for their murder
Unfashionable habit costs human lives

INTERVIEWS  22 July 2022 - 09:45

Today, the percentage of smokers among the male population of Azerbaijan is very high. This fact is noteworthy because the decrease in the number of smokers in developed countries today is very fast. The gender balance among fans of this controversial habit is also changing - in the West, for example, there are already more women who smoke than men. The number of smokers both men and women is increasing in our country. Severe anti-tobacco laws are bearing fruit in the West. Smoking is banned in public places in almost all countries of Europe and the USA, and new stringent standards for the packaging of tobacco products are being adopted. For example, in Australia, which passed a law on standard packaging with a warning about the dangers of tobacco, such a giant as Philip Morris left the market.

In our country, although a law has been passed banning smoking in enclosed public spaces, this law is very often ignored in small cafes. The sale of tobacco products is restricted to persons under 18 years of age and this rule is implemented almost everywhere. The phrase about a drop of nicotine has long turned into a joke and has ceased to be an obstacle to the triumphant entry of smoking into the life of Azerbaijani citizens. Moreover, the relationship between smoking and lung cancer is also not so clear-cut. However, what has long been proven by doctors is the horrific effect of tobacco on the human heart.

In order to clarify the features of this habit, which has long been out of fashion in the West and its impact on human health, Caliber.Az took an interview with the Associate Professor of the Department of Therapy at the Azerbaijan State Advanced Training Institute for Doctors, cardiologist Sadaget Sultanova.

- As a cardiologist, you have been observing patients with heart diseases for a long time. Tell me if you are convinced by your medical experience that smoking affects the work of the human heart and the general condition of the patient.

- Before we move on to science - medicine, I have bad news for women. Cigarettes have a terrible effect on human skin, so an earthy complexion is an indispensable companion of a smoker. If for men this is not so important, then for girls, I think this is not very good news. The mechanisms of influence on the skin are very complex, of course, all this is connected with the small vessels of the head, but you can take my word for it.

- Now let's talk about tobacco and the heart.

- The main harm is that nicotine and tar adversely affect the vessels of the heart, narrowing them and making them less elastic. That is why it is categorically not recommended for athletes to smoke, because smoking increases the risk of injuries and slows down the healing process.

- And why is the decrease in the elasticity of blood vessels a bad thing?

- Vessels are elastic in order to cope with high or low blood pressure levels. If the pressure has increased and a blood clot has come off, then the risk of this blood clot getting stuck in one of the vessels increases. Well, this can lead to a stroke (if we are talking about the vessels of the brain) or to a heart attack (if we are talking about the vessels of the heart). I do not want to scare anyone, but smoking causes more than 80% of all deaths from coronary heart disease (CHD) in men aged 35-44 years and 27% in men aged 45-64 years. A study of risk factors showed that smokers have a sharp increase in the risk of angina pectoris (2 times), myocardial infarction (2 times), coronary artery disease (2.2 times), and sudden death (4.9 times).

- You know that many people understand intellectually that this habit will not bring anything good, but not having the willpower, they continue to smoke. What should such people do?

- There are many methods to combat smoking, one of them is nicotine patches, the transition to the now fashionable vapes. It is very useful to pick up a calculator and calculate how much you spend per month on cigarettes per year. I assure you, this figure will shock you. Well, if you take these expenses for 5 years, then you can think about a car for your spouse, teaching a child abroad, etc.

- They say smokers are beneficial to the state - they bring income from the sale of cigarettes and do not live long, they will not have to pay a pension for a long time. Is it so?

- For our state, human health is more important than profit from sales, plus the state's expenses for the treatment of seriously ill patients are very high. So the answer to your question is a resounding NO!

- They say there are a lot of smokers in Japan, but they live long.

- Alas, the statistics of deaths from cardiovascular diseases in Japan are almost the same as around the world. Just due to long-livers, the average life expectancy is higher than that of the rest of the world. But Japanese people have the same heart problems as Africans or Americans.

- What should family members and friends of a smoker do?

- Never create comfortable conditions for smoking, for example, do not allow smoking at home, but only on the balcony or outdoors. Do not give the smoker pleasant "smoking" accessories (expensive cigarettes, lighters, ashtrays). And most importantly, try to explain to him (her) the absurdity of this activity - after all, the smoker actually pays money to the killer to deal with him, albeit slowly!

Caliber.Az