My dad is a smoker, my mom is a smoker, and my aunt is a smoker too. Whenever I'm with dad, I will always jokingly tell him "Little Genting", as Genting is known for its popular cool and chilly weather, and you will see white clouds around. The term "Little Genting" means the white smoke that is produced by cigarettes. Since small, I'm curious as why my parents like to smoke and so I decided to explore more and share what I found.
Tobacco Harm Reduction (THR)
What is THR? Tobacco harm reduction (THR) is a public health strategy to lower the health risks to individuals and the wider society associated with using tobacco products. It is an example of the concept of harm reduction, a strategy for dealing with the use of drugs. Cigarette smoke is widely acknowledged as a leading cause of illness and death and reducing smoking is vital to public health.
Cigarette Tar, Nicotine, Combustion
Cigarette tar that we refer to here is not the substance we use to make the tar road. Tar is a term used to describe the machine-based weight measurement of total particulate matter in cigarette smoke minus water and nicotine. Whilst tar can be a useful measurement for cigarette yields (for example, it can provide some indication of taste intensity), tar yields do not replicate actual smoking behavior and therefore smokers should not assume that lower yield numbers mean a particular brand is safe, safer, or less harmful than another. The best choice a smoker can make is to stop using tobacco and nicotine altogether.
Nicotine occurs naturally in the tobacco plant. Once inhaled, nicotine is absorbed through the lungs straight into the bloodstream where it travels through the body into tissues and organs, including the brain. In the brain, nicotine binds to specific receptors and triggers the release of dopamine and other neurotransmitters. As a result, nicotine may stimulate and ultimately affect short-term brain functions such as emotion, learning, and memory.
After repeated nicotine stimulation, the brain adapts to the presence of nicotine, a process that is reversible when a person stops using nicotine-containing products. The action of nicotine in the brain can also trigger physiological effects outside the brain. For example, the messenger epinephrine is released into the bloodstream, leading to temporary (and reversible) narrowing of blood vessels, higher blood pressure, and increased heart rate.
Nicotine-containing products should not be used during pregnancy or while breastfeeding, should not be used by people who have or are at risk of heart disease, are diabetic, are epileptic, or are experiencing seizures, and should not be used by minors.
When a cigarette is lit it burns tobacco at temperatures of up to 900°C. This burning process is known as ‘combustion’. The high temperature of combustion generates the vast numbers and high levels of harmful chemicals found in cigarette smoke. Eliminating the burning process—as smoke-free products do—means that the average levels of harmful chemicals generated can be significantly reduced compared with cigarette smoke. Whether a product achieves this must be scientifically assessed for each product as they’re all different.
Heat-Not-Burn Technology and Heated Tobacco Products
Heated tobacco products (HTP) are electronic devices that heat the tobacco stick to help smokers who wanted to switch to a less harmful alternative to consume nicotine without going through the burning process. When you heat them, they produce a vapour containing nicotine, which you inhale. They are different from conventional cigarettes in their mechanism, which heats the tobacco to considerably lower temperatures. In the HTPdevices, the tobacco is heated to 350℃, compared to traditional cigarettes that combust and burn at up to 900℃. Therefore, users and the people surrounding them will not be exposed to any cigarette smoke or second-hand smoke.
What Options Do You Have?
I've heard many people say that once you start smoking, it's hard to stop. But why? It's because nicotine is so addictive. While it is addictive, Nicotine is not the primary cause of smoking related diseases. It is the harmful chemical components found in cigarette smoke and hundreds of them are harmful to human health, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Therefore, for those who are unwilling to quit smoking, switching to a better alternative such as the smoke-free alternatives is an ideal choice for them to reduce the harm and reduce the chances of exposing themselves and their loved ones to cigarette smoke or second-hand smoke.
Reference:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tobacco_harm_reduction
https://www.blf.org.uk/your-stories/why-is-it-so-hard-to-stop-smoking
PMI Affiliates
https://www.britannica.com/science/combustion
https://theconversation.com/what-are-heat-not-burn-products-and-are-they-any-safer-than-traditional-cigarettes-132008
https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/healthy-lifestyle/quit-smoking-tobacco/how-smoking-and-nicotine-damage-your-body
http://www.myhealth.gov.my/en/quit-smoking-prime-years-2/
https://cancer.org.my/get-screened/quit-smoking-clinic/
