Ramadan... To Quit Smoking Much has been said about the disastrous effects of smoking on a person's health and after massive campaigns at governmental level almost everyone who smokes knows that smoking is injurious to one's health. Smoking is considered as one of the three independent primary factors for the causation of coronary heart disease. The other two being hypertension and hypercholestrolemia. Smoking has a role in the etiology of hypertension. Tobacco is also the most clearly identified factor associated with different cancers specially lung, esophagus, mouth, larynx, bladder, cervix, prostate and pancreas etc. More than one third of all cancer deaths are due to tobacco smoking alone. It is also associated with strokes, heart attacks, peptic ulcers, gastro-esophageal reflux, inflammatory bowel disease, chronic obstructive lung disease and hypertension etc. In the past few years researchers have found a relationship between smoking and cataract, coronary artery spasm, osteoporosis etc. It is now well known that pregnancies related to smoker mothers have a high frequency of pre-term labor, low birth weight, hydramnios, abortion, etc. Previously, diabetes was not associated with smoking but recent research has shown that smoking plays a role in the etiology of smoking as well. Some people use low tar cigarettes in the hope that it is more protective against the smoking hazards but after research it has been concluded that smoking of any type is dangerous to health. Although alcohol and narcotic addiction is uncommon among Muslims, their hazardous effects are far more lethal than smoking alone. The good news is that stopping smoking at any stage increases life expectancy by a significant margin. Even at the age of 45 years, if a smoker bids farewell to smoking, he is said to increase the life expectancy by at least 4 years. The reason why I suggest Ramadan as the best time to quit smoking and other addictions is quite obvious. In Ramadan a Muslim has no other choice but to fast which means an abstinence from smoking or drugs for about 14-15 hours. Smokers have also noticed that in the initial days of Ramadan the urge to smoke is at a maximum, but it gradually diminishes in the later days. Something like detoxification starts taking place in the month of Ramadan. It is also quite obvious that in Ramadan the number of cigarettes smoked by a smoker is substantially reduced because of refraining to smoke during the whole day when a person is fasting. So, if a smoker used to smoke 40 cigarettes a day, he will now be smoking only 15-20 cigarettes and this reduction in the number of cigarettes is beneficial as medically speaking, the incidence of heart diseases and cancers is directly related to the number of cigarettes smoked per day. A person who smokes less or smokes occasionally has a far less chance to fall a prey to the deadly diseases than one who is a heavy smoker. The same applies to other addictions as well. Apart from offering a unique chance to get rid of the disastrous habits Ramadan showers it's blessings on passive smokers as well. These are the smokers who do not smoke themselves, but they are living or working in the contaminated air. They, according to research studies, have an increased chance to develop coronary heart disease etc. Smoking is not only hazardous to health; it is also wastage of money. Ramadan is a yearly reminder that the reduced number of cigarettes smoked in Ramadan and hence the amount saved should be an incentive to quit smoking. In short, the message is that Ramadan offers a grand opportunity to get rid of smoking and other addictions. The increasing number of heart attacks and sudden deaths associated with smoking and high mortality among addicts warns that at least some smokers and addicts will not live to get another chance next Ramadan. |
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