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World Anti-tobacco Day: Quit Tobacco to Prevent Deadly Cancers

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Health conditions are increasing among people of all ages and creating significant mental and financial stress. Therefore, it is important to follow healthy lifestyle habits and stay away from harmful products that can weaken your body’s immune system and lead to cancer and other severe conditions. Tobacco is one such product that can impact the functioning of various organs in the body and deteriorate your health over time. It can also cause DNA damage and increase the risk of different types of cancers. With Anti-Tobacco Day 2024 just around the corner, let’s take a look at the risks of tobacco consumption. We will also share a list of different types of carcinomas that can be attributed to tobacco use.

Types of cancers caused by tobacco

Tobacco can cause the following forms of cancer in people who smoke or consume any tobacco product:

1. Lung cancer

2. Liver cancer

3. Oral cancer

4. Throat cancer

5. Kidney cancer

6. Stomach cancer

7. Oesophageal cancer

8. Pancreatic cancer

9. Bladder cancer

10. Cervix cancer

11. Ovarian cancer

12. Bowel/Colorectal cancer

13. Blood cancer

How does tobacco affect different organs in the body?

Tobacco can adversely affect different organs in the body and cause the following types of cancers —

1. Lung cancer:

This is one of the most common types of cancer caused by tobacco. When you smoke, harmful chemicals or carcinogens enter the lungs and start damaging the lung tissues; these damaged tissues turn cancerous over time.

2. Liver cancer:

When tobacco smoke enters the body, your liver comes in contact with the chemicals in this smoke and breaks them down. This causes liver cell damage and gradually leads to liver cancer.

3. Oral cancer:

Chewing tobacco can cause cancer in the gums, cheek, and lips. The product contains carcinogenic chemicals that lead to genetic changes in the cells of the mouth and cause cancer.

4. Throat cancer:

When you smoke, you tend to inhale the carcinogenic chemicals present in tobacco. These harmful chemicals affect the pharynx and larynx and cause cancer.

5. Kidney cancer:

Tobacco can also affect the kidneys and cause cancer. When you smoke tobacco, the smoke enters your lungs, and the lungs absorb the carcinogenic chemicals present in it. These chemicals then enter the bloodstream. When your kidneys filter blood, the carcinogenic chemicals present in the blood accumulate in the kidneys and cause cancer.

6. Stomach cancer:

This is cancer of the cells lining the stomach. When you smoke, the chemicals present in tobacco enter the stomach and cause genetic changes in the cells, thereby leading to stomach cancer.

7. Oesophageal cancer:

Smoking cigarettes or consuming tobacco weakens the oesophageal sphincters. These are important muscular valves that protect the oesophagus by keeping fluids in the stomach. Therefore, when these valves get damaged, stomach acid flows back into the oesophagus; this results in heartburn or GERD and gradually leads to oesophageal cancer.

8. Pancreatic cancer:

Cigarettes contain cancer-causing substances that lead to inflammation, abnormal cell growth, and the development of fibrous connective tissue in the pancreas. These changes cause the glandular tissues in the pancreas to enlarge, causing cancer.

9. Bladder cancer:

When you smoke tobacco, the chemicals present in the smoke pass into the urine and stay there for many hours. When the cells in the bladder get exposed to these chemicals, they undergo genetic changes and turn cancerous.

10. Cervix cancer:

Smoking tobacco affects the way your immune system responds to HPV, and this often leads to cervix cancer.

11. Ovarian cancer:

This is one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths among women. Smoking tobacco increases the risk of certain types of ovarian cancer, particularly mucinous ovarian cancer. It mainly happens if you smoke for years or smoke multiple cigarettes a day.

12. Bowel/Colorectal cancer:

Tobacco contains carcinogenic chemicals that can cause genetic changes in the colon cells. The condition happens when the cells lining the colon grow and divide continuously. This uncontrolled cell growth gradually leads to the formation of a tumour or cancer in the bowel.

13. Blood cancer:

When you smoke tobacco, your lungs absorb harmful chemicals that are present in the smoke. A chemical called benzene also gets absorbed and causes cancer in the bone marrow. Thus, the blood cells made in the bone marrow turn cancerous and cause blood cancer or leukaemia.

What should you do?

The following are the things you must do to stay safe from cancer caused by tobacco use —

• Quit tobacco:

If you smoke cigarettes or consume tobacco regularly, you must quit right away. In addition to cancer, tobacco can cause many other health conditions and shorten life expectancy by many years. Therefore, it is wise to stay away from this silent killer.

• Cancer screenings:

Tobacco can cause different types of cancers, especially in those who use tobacco products often. Therefore, it is important to go for cancer screenings at least once a year or as advised by your doctor.

• Health insurance:

Keeping medical inflation in mind, staying covered under an adequate health insurance plan for those uncertain times is wise. This is especially important for those who use tobacco products.

• Critical illness insurance:

If there is a family history of cancer or any other life-threatening condition, make sure you also buy a critical illness insurance policy. This health plan can help cover long-term and expensive medical procedures and save you from financial setbacks.

How does tobacco consumption increase the risk of cancer?

Tobacco consumption increases the risk of cancer in the following ways —

• It weakens the immune system:

Tobacco contains many harmful and cancer-causing chemicals. Therefore, when you smoke or consume any tobacco product, these chemicals enter your body and weaken your immune system. A weakened immune system finds it difficult to kill cancer cells, so these cells grow continuously and lead to cancer.

• It causes DNA damage:

When you smoke or consume any tobacco product, toxic chemicals enter your body and cause DNA damage. This DNA damage increases over time and leads to cancer. The harmful chemicals may also damage parts of the DNA that guard you against cancer.

• It makes DNA repair difficult:

The chemicals in tobacco also make DNA repair difficult, causing DNA damage to build up over time. If DNA damage increases in the same cell, it leads to cancer.

Conclusion

To sum up, smoking and consuming tobacco can cause inflammation, increase blood clots, suppress the immune system, and affect the functioning of some vital organs in the body. Therefore, it is wise to stay away from tobacco altogether to prevent tobacco-related cancers. If you use tobacco, quitting it on time can alleviate your risk of suffering from life-threatening conditions. Second-hand or passive smoking also poses severe health risks; therefore, it is important to stay away from this as well.

Disclaimer: The above information is for illustrative purposes only. For more details, please refer to the policy wordings and prospectus before concluding the sales.

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