The dangers of smoking: studies will make you stop smoking immediately!
Such studies on the dangers of smoking are not published every day: in the United States, it was found that smoking bans did not affect the functioning of bars, in Scandinavia, it was found that smoking causes HPV, and in the Netherlands smoking and alcohol were found to cause cancer of the esophagus and stomach.
"Many studies conducted on the subject of the dangers of smoking are very important because they deepen and broaden our awareness," said cancer experts. According to them, “On the one hand, the effect of smoking on many types of cancer can be seen (where previous studies on smoking have shown that smoking is responsible for about a third of cancer cases), and on the other hand, it can be seen that appropriate legislation and state responsibilities in implementing laws can reduce rates Smoking and the dangers of smoking. Each year about five million people in the world die from the harm caused by smoking, but the good news is that these difficult statistics can be underestimated."
Here are some important studies on the dangers of smoking:
1 . Smoking ban in public places in Minnesota in the USA: Smoking ban does not cause workplace loss in bars and restaurants
Researchers from the University of Minnesota in the US examined the validity of the claim that bans on smoking in bars and restaurants cause economic damage in this area. This claim is based on the premise that drinking alcohol and smoking are "incompatible" and therefore places serving alcohol should be exempted from the ban on smoking in public places. The researchers examined employment in ten cities in Minnesota, between January 2003 and September 2006, comparing cities where smoking in public places (including bars and restaurants) is completely prohibited and cities with partial bans (exemption for bars serving alcohol). In two of the ten cities, there were no bans, and they were used as a control group.
Research results: There was no significant effect, whether short-term or long-term, on job opportunities in the cities included in the study. In cities where there is a complete ban on smoking in public places - the number of workers in bars and restaurants was only 0.09% (9 workers per 10,000 people) compared to cities where there is a partial ban on smoking, the number of workers was 0.02% less (2 workers per 10,000 inhabitants) compared to cities where there is no ban at all. However, this difference is not statistically proven. In cities with bans of any kind, the number of workers was three more per 10,000 compared to cities without any bans.
The researchers concluded that the ban on smoking in restaurants and bars, which serve alcohol, does not affect the work in this field significantly. This ban protects against exposure to secondhand smoke, does not cause economic damage, and is the simplest way to provide this protection. These conclusions are consistent with those of previous studies about the economic damages to restaurants and bars caused by smoking bans. This study was recently published in the journal Prevention Science.
2 . Damage caused by smoking: Smoking is another risk factor for HPV that causes cervical cancer
Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the main cause of cervical cancer. However, because many women have contracted the virus and will not develop the disease, it is not the only cause of the disease. The role of smoking as a cause of cervical cancer has been examined in the past, but it was difficult to ascertain and separate the effect of smoking as an independent pathogen after HPV infection.
In a new study, data from five blood banks in Scandinavia (Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Iceland), which contain samples from more than one million women. These data were compared with information from national cancer registry offices. All data were from the years 1973-2003. The researchers examined 588 samples from women who had metastatic cervical cancer and -2861 samples from women without the disease. In these samples, the presence of cotinine (a biomarker of tobacco exposure), antibodies to HPV 16 and 18 strains, herpes antibodies, and antibodies to the sexually transmitted disease - chlamydia were examined.
The researchers found a significant increase in the risk of cervical squamous cell carcinoma in heavy smokers, both for women who had HPV (2.7 times more) and for women without the virus (2.9 times more). times), compared to non-smoking women. The risk for heavy smokers remained similar, even after taking into account the antibody factor for HPV (3.2 times greater). CONCLUSIONS: Smoking is an independent risk factor for cervical cancer in women who have been infected with strains of HPV, which cause cancer. This study was published in 2009 in the American Journal of Epidemiology.
3 . Law enforcement to ban smoking in public places in Spain - a complete ban has led to a significant reduction in forced smoking. The application of the smoking areas law led to a slight decrease.
Spanish researchers examined the effect of the law banning smoking in public places in Spain (which came into force in 2006) on the prevalence of forced smoking in Spain - passive smoking. Spanish law completely prohibits smoking in medical centers, educational institutions, and workplaces, and smoking is permitted only in the smoking room in places of recreation. To study its effect on the Spanish population, the Spanish Society of Pulmonology and Thoracic Surgery (SEPAR) conducted a telephone survey of the population on two different dates: 6,533 people were surveyed before the entry into force of the law, of whom 3,907 (59.8%) were non-smokers. 3,289 people were surveyed about a year after the law was implemented, of whom 2,174 (65.9%) were non-smokers.
The results show that the exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) generally decreased from -49.5% in 2005 to -37.9% in 2007 -a decrease of 22%. The largest decrease in exposure to smoking in the workplace was from -25.8% to 11%, a decrease of 58.8%. In schools, exposure decreased from - 17.8% to 8.8%, a decrease of 49.8%. The rate of decline was lower in homes and places of entertainment. In homes, exposure to smoking decreased from 29.5% to -21.4%, and in recreational settings from 37.4% to -31.8%, a decrease of 27% and 8%, respectively.
The researchers concluded that enforcement of the anti-smoking law in public places led to a significant reduction in exposure to environmental tobacco smoke. In places where the ban was complete, the decrease was higher compared to places where there was only a restriction or no ban. This study was published in August 2008 in the European Journal of Public Health.
4 . Smoking damage: Smoking and drinking alcohol increase the risk of esophageal and stomach cancer
Dutch researchers examined whether smoking and drinking alcohol increase the risk of three types of esophageal cancer - adenocarcinoma (Adenocarcinoma - EAC), and squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), and cancer that occurs in a place contact the esophagus and stomach (GCA). The study began in 1986. 120,852 healthy people filled out lifestyle questionnaires and were then followed for 16 years.
Results: Over the years, participants have detected 120 cases of squamous cell carcinoma, 168 cases of EAC, and 187 cases of GCA. And found a relationship between smoking in the past and present and between the three types of disease. The risk of infection in current smokers was the highest. In past smokers, the risks were moderate, compared to those who had never smoked. The duration and frequency of smoking influence the magnitude of the risk. This study also found an association between drinking alcohol and ESCC. People who drank four glasses of alcohol a day had a five times greater risk of developing the disease compared to people who did not drink alcohol.
The researchers concluded that smoking and drinking alcohol increase the risk of esophageal cancer and cancer that occurs at the junction of the stomach and esophagus. This study was presented on November 17, 2008, at the seventh annual conference of the American Association for Cancer Research.