SMOKING

AND YOUR HEALTH

DepEd SDO- Bataan School Health and Nutrition Section

NEW VOIS ASSOCIATION OF THE PHILIPPINES, INC.
Department of Health
 National Figures

240 Filipinos die

daily due to
tobacco-related diseases
ADULT CURRENT SMOKERS
(15 years old and above)

• 28.3% of total adults (17.3M)

• 47.7% of adult males (14.6M)
• 9.0% of adult females ( 2.8M)
SOURCE: Philippines’ Global Adult Tobacco Survey, 2009
 YOUTH CURRENT SMOKERS
(13 - 15 years old)

• 27.4% currently use any tobacco product (M-34.7%; F-19.6%)

• More than 1 in 5 students (21.9%) currently smoke cigarettes
• Almost 1 in 10 (9.7%) currently use some other form of tobacco
SOURCE: Philippines’ Global Youth Tobacco Survey, 2007
 Why TOBACCO USE
is prevalent in the Philippines

• EASY ACCESS & LOW PRICES

• AGGRESSIVE AND WIDESPREAD MARKETING

• LACK OF AWARENESS ABOUT ITS DANGER

• WEAKNESSES IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF

POLICIES AND PROGRAMS TO CURB THE
TOBACCO EPIDEMIC
 TOBACCO
is the only LEGAL product that,
when used according to the
manufacturers’ instructions,
surely kills half
of the people who use it.
 Tobacco smoke contains
more than 7,000 chemicals,
more than 50 known or suspected carcinogens,
and many potent irritants.
OTHER TOXIC COMPONENTS
3 MAIN COMPONENTS
OF TOBACCO SMOKE
• NICOTINE is the addictive
component of tobacco. It is
absorbed into the blood and
affects the brain within 10
seconds. It causes smokers
to feel good because of the
chemicals in the brain that it
releases. It also causes a surge
of heart rate, blood pressure,
and adrenaline which also feels
good.
• TAR is a thick, sticky substance, and when inhaled it sticks to
the tiny hairs on the lungs, the cilia. These normally protect the
lungs from dirt and infection, but when covered in tar they can't
do their job. Tar also coats the walls of the whole respiration
system, narrowing the tubes that transport air (the bronchioles)
and reducing elasticity of the lungs.
• CARBON MONOXIDE is the
poisonous chemical found in
car exhaust fumes. It decreases
the amount of oxygen in the
blood, which deprives all the
organs of oxygen too. Because
there's less oxygen in the blood,
it gets thicker and puts a
strain on the heart to pump.
Smokers die younger.
Smoking is the most common cause of cancers.
Smoking at an early age increases the risk of lung cancer.
 Smoking makes you about 10 times more likely
to die early from a major stroke or heart attack.
Smoking also increases the risk of developing diabetes.
 Smokers suffer more frequently from
severe bronchitis and emphysema
(a disease where the chemicals in tobacco smoke severely damage
the lining of the lungs, and make it difficult to breathe).
 Smoking damages small blood vessels,
and restricts blood flow to the hands and feet,
can lead to gangrene and even the amputation of limbs.
Smoking affects your sense of taste and smell,
making both of them less sensitive.
 Smoking leads to tooth decay,
and turns your teeth and fingers yellow.
Smoking affects your skin and complexion;
it leads to premature aging and wrinkles.
 Men who smoked for years were often unable
to have an erection due to low penile blood pressure.
Male smokers also have a lower sperm count and
more abnormal sperm than non-smokers.
 Tobacco Smoke

10 Filipinos die
by the hour due to
tobacco-related diseases
 For every cigarette stick smoked,
a smoker loses 5 to 10 minutes
of his/her precious life
and also endangers the lives
of the innocent people around him/her
• ELECTRONIC CIGARETTE

- Mimics cigarette smoking using atomized vapor

- Contains propylene, glycol, water, flavoring and varying
levels of nicotine
- User inhales, a sensor detects air flow and starts a process
to heat liquid from a replaceable cartridge so it vaporizes
- Powered by a small rechargeable battery
- Banned by Israel, Australia, Canada
and Mexico over safety issues
- NOT A SMOKING
CESSATION DEVICE
 KINDS OF TOBACCO SMOKE

• MAINSTREAM SMOKE is a combination of inhaled and

exhaled smoke after taking a puff on a lit cigarette.
SECONDHAND SMOKE
• THIRD-HAND SMOKE is
the combination of cigarette
byproducts that cling to
smokers’ hair and clothing
as well as to floors, surfaces,
carpets, furniture, appliances,
fabrics and children’s toys –
even after tobacco smoke has
cleared.
Other Health Hazards
 DID YOU KNOW?

The original “Marlboro Man”

may not have been that macho or masculine
as his advertisements projected.
David Millar, Jr.
died from emphysema in 1987
after years of bad health.

Three more men who appeared

in Marlboro advertisements
– Wayne McLaren, David McLean & Dick Hammer –
all died of lung cancer.
Studies say that
Filipino children
start smoking
at the age of

7
SMOKING IS A PEDIATRIC DISEASE

• Most smokers become addicted to tobacco when

they are too young to make "informed choices" that
will affect their health and life.

• By the time most smokers are old enough to make

informed choices, they are addicted to cigarettes.

ART by Antonio Totto, Jr.

WHY YOUTH START SMOKING?
• Social image they want
to present to others.
The tobacco industry
has created an image
of smoking as being
TOUGH, COOL, SEXY,
SOPHISTICATED,
ATTRACTIVE or a
FORM OF REBELLION
• Friends or family are smokers.
• Easy access and low price
of tobacco products.
• On 27 February 2005, the Framework Convention
on Tobacco Control (FCTC) entered into force after
40 country ratifications.

- First and only Public Health Treaty

under the World Health Organization

- Tobacco control measures focusing on

supply and demand, and harm reduction
strategies that aim to improve the health
of a population by eliminating or
reducing their consumption of tobacco
products (smoking) and exposure to
tobacco smoke (secondhand smoke)
• All forms of tobacco advertisements in mass media are
banned.

• All outdoor advertising is banned.

• Leaflets, posters and similar advertising materials may

be posted inside the premises of point-of-sale retail
establishments. Cigarette brands may also appear on
smoking related items like lighters and ashtrays.

• Cigarette and tobacco companies are PROHIBITED

FROM SPONSORING any sport, concert, cultural art or
event, as well as individual and team athletes, artists or
performers.
 The choice is yours !

Help us in our crusade

and save lives !
..
 Thank
Excerpts from:

SMOKING

You!
and the Pinoy Youth
by
ANTHONY R. RODA
National Center for Health Promotion
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
Manila, Philippines