"Lighting cigarettes, burning lives, poison to cancer"

According to the World Health Organization, Cigarettes kill more than 8 million people worldwide every year, of which 7 million are smokers, but about 1.3 million are second-hand smokers. In Thailand, about 10.6% of deaths are caused by cigarettes. Starting for the first time when you are under the age of 18. Children and adolescents are starting to smoke faster, especially e-cigarettes. As many as 17.6% of school children have used e-cigarettes and 37.3% have tried smoking.

Cigarettes contain more than 7,000 chemicals, and at least 250 of them are harmful substances that affect the body in many ways, such as the accumulation of free radicals in the body. Reduces the amount of antioxidant circulation increased inflammation in the body; Decreased immune system performance In addition, it causes the wound to heal slowly. Respiratory and pulmonary dysfunction, bone mass decreases, and an increased risk of diseases such as periodontitis, atherosclerosis, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), diabetes, and most fearably, cancer.

Cancer risk with cigarettes

Many of you may mistakenly think that cigarettes only increase the risk of lung cancer. Cigarettes increase the risk of more than 10 types of cancer because cigarettes contain at least 60 carcinogens. There is clear evidence that it causes cancer in humans, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), nitrosamines, and aromatic amines.

benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) is a substance in the group of PAHs caused by incomplete combustion during smoking and was the first to be identified as a carcinogen. This substance causes mutations in the TP53 gene, which has clear evidence that it causes lung cancer, oral cancer, and cervical cancer.

NNK (4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone) and NNN (N′-nitrosonornicotine) are nitrosamines with clear evidence that they can cause lung cancer and there is research evidence linking them to nasopharyngeal cancer. Oral cancer Esophageal cancer Liver cancer Pancreatic cancer Cervical cancer 

The scary thing about cigarettes and cancer is that even after they stop smoking, the risk of developing certain cancers is still higher than that of people who have never smoked. This can be seen in the table below.

In addition, the risk of cancer depends on the amount of cigarettes smoked. For example, if you smoke 1-9 cigarettes a day. Men have a 1.39 times increased risk of lung cancer while women increase by 1.49 times, but if it increases to 10-19 cigarettes per day, the risk in men increases to 2.67 times and in women to 3.30 times. Men are 13.7 times more likely to have a risk of 13.7 times higher than women, while women are 24.10 times more likely to be at risk. The sooner you quit smoking, the better. The healthier it is.

Why do people start smoking and it's hard to quit smoking?

Adolescence is an age that is easily affected by the surroundings. Most people start smoking as teenagers, with stimulus such as a parent or sibling who smokes. Seeing cigarettes in movies, games, or social media, as well as the marketing of cigarette companies that encourage teenagers to smoke and the price is within the affordability range. In addition, e-cigarettes come in many flavors, including fruity and candy-like flavors, making it easy to start smoking. 

When you start smoking, you will enter the smoking addiction phase, and quitting smoking will cause symptoms such as irritability, fatigue, difficulty sleeping, increased hunger, anxiety, etc. This makes it more difficult to quit smoking, and smokers give up their efforts to quit smoking and can go back to smoking.

On May 31, World No Smoking Day 2025, we invite everyone to be a part of stopping smoking. By knowing the marketing strategy of the cigarette industry. Under the theme "Unmasking the Appeal: Exposing Industry Tactics on Tobacco and Nicotine Products", the number of new smokers, especially children and youth, has been reduced. So that our children and grandchildren grow up in a smoke-free society.

References

1. The Tobacco Atlas. Country Factsheets Thailand [Internet]. 2021 [cited 2025 Mar 24]. Available from: https://tobaccoatlas.org/factsheets/thailand/#:~:text=Adult%20smoking%20prevalence%20in%20Thailand%20is%2019%25.&text=Number%20of%20adult%20smokers%20in%20Thailand%20is%2011%2C091%2C733.&text=Youth%20smoking%20prevalence%20in%20Thailand%20is%207%25.&text=Adult%20smokeless%20tobacco%20use%20prevalence%20in%20Thailand%20is%202%25.

2. World Health Organization. Tobacco [Internet]. World Health Organization. World Health Organization; 2023 [cited 2025 Mar 24]. Available from: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/tobacco

3. Bonnie RJ, Stratton K, Kwan LY, Committee on the Public Health Implications of Raising the Minimum Age for Purchasing Tobacco Products. The Effects of Tobacco Use on Health. Public Health Implications of Raising the Minimum Age of Legal Access to Tobacco Products. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 2015 Jul 23.

4. American Cancer Society. Why People Start Using Tobacco, and Why It’s Hard to Stop [Internet]. American Cancer Society; 2024 [cited 2025 Mar 24]. Available from: https://www.cancer.org/cancer/risk-prevention/tobacco/guide-quitting-smoking/why-people-start-using-tobacco.html

5. U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US), National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health. How Tobacco Smoke Causes Disease: The Biology and Behavioral Basis for Smoking-Attributable Disease: A Report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta (GA): U.S. Department of Health and Human Service; 2010.

6. Hecht SS. Tobacco carcinogens, their biomarkers and tobacco-induced cancer. Nat Rev Cancer. 2003 Dec;3(10):733-44.

7. Gandini S, Botteri E, Iodice S, Boniol M, Lowenfels AB, Maisonneuve P, et al. Tobacco smoking and cancer: A meta‐analysis. Int J Cancer. 2008 Jan;122(1):155-64.