This post was coauthored by Jane Martin, RT and Kristen Szymonik BS, RRT, AE-C
As you know, exposure to tobacco smoke and other inhaled toxic particles and gases are the main causes of COPD. Last week we talked about air quality around the world and where you live. May 31 is "World No Tobacco Day." So today we're going to spend a few minutes thinking about tobacco use - around the world, as well as in your hometown.
Please know that we're not doing this for you to be hard on yourself if you're a former smoker. That's in the past, in your rear-view mirror - and now you're going forward, learning to breathe better with help from the COPD Foundation. Today we're looking at tobacco use as citizens of the world who know what it is like to struggle for breath. If you're a current smoker who is trying to quit, I hope this blog post and the encouragement of your friends here will inspire you to keep on trying!
First, as we often do, let's start with some facts:
- Up to 50% of smokers die from tobacco use.
- Over 8 million people die each year due to tobacco use. Over 1 million of those deaths are from second-hand smoke exposure.
We know these things now, but we didn't always know that tobacco smoke was that bad. I can tell you that as a little girl, around age five, I would walk with my sister to our neighborhood corner store to buy cigarettes for my grandpa who had been smoking since he was in the 6th grade. We'd go up to the counter and say, "Salems, please." The corner store lady would say, "For your grandpa, right?" We would nod eagerly, give her the money he'd given us, take the cigarettes, pick out a few penny candies, and be on our way. Years later, as a young wife, mother, and respiratory therapist working second shift, I would buy a pack of cigarettes for my husband on my way home from work. Now, in our town, we don't often see people walking down the street and smoking.
How do you see the cigarette smoking situation in your part of the world - where you live or places you have visited? How common is it? It is different now than, say, 50, 30, or even 10 years ago? Have attitudes changed for the better, are they much the same, or worse?
Let's talk! I look forward to hearing from you