At least ten thousand years before Christ, Indians in Central America already used tobacco in the form of cigarettes in religious rituals. In our country, older reports indicate that, in 1556, the chaplain of the first French expedition to our country observed this practice among the Tupinambás.
Cigarettes began to be manufactured in the 1840s and, forty years later, a machine capable of rolling a large number of cigarettes per minute was created, thus making it popular. Although visible, the fact that it is addictive and its use can trigger a range of diseases was only recognized in the mid-twentieth century.
Currently, there are approximately 1.2 billion smokers worldwide, with 38 million living in Brazil.
One of the more than 4,500 substances that a single cigarette contains – nicotine – interacts with neural receptors, which release substances such as dopamine, acetylcholine, serotonin and beta-endorphin, giving a feeling of pleasure immediate.
More addictive than drugs like alcohol, cocaine, crack and morphine; nicotine reaches the brain in up to twenty seconds: much faster time than the active ingredient of any other of these drugs. Thus, the probability of an individual becoming dependent on nicotine is very high, with a very uncomfortable withdrawal crisis, which it usually starts minutes after the last drink, being largely responsible for a smoker's difficulty in interrupting the use of the cigarette. This situation is so serious, and sad, that it is not uncommon to see end-stage smokers desperately begging for another drink.
Carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, ammonia, benzene, toluene, tar, formic acid, acetic acid, lead, cadmium, zinc, nickel among many other substances are found in cigarettes. These are responsible for the increased risk that these individuals have of developing health problems such as cancers, diseases coronary arteries, poor blood circulation, pulmonary emphysema, chronic bronchitis, strokes, ulcers, osteoporosis, impotence, cataract.
As some of these are released into the air, along with smoke, people who live with smokers are also subject. There is also thromboangiitis obliterans, a disease that occurs only among smokers, which obstructs the arteries in the extremities and causes tissue necrosis.
In addition, cigarettes are considered the biggest pollutant in household environments; is responsible for felling trees and burning in favor of planting tobacco and manufacturing firewood to supply furnaces for drying leaves; it contaminates the soil through the use of pesticides; and it is the cause of countless fires, thanks to the improper disposal of its butts.
Given these facts, it is no wonder that cigarettes are considered one of the biggest public health (and environmental) problems that our society faces today.
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Mariana Araguaia
Graduated in Biology
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