Was watching Persona (1966) the other day. The enigmatic Swedish movie is perhaps at the pinnacle of filmmaking but more about it some other day. What did catch my attention was the smoking.
Tobacco has been the ‘talk of the town’ for a significant part of modern times. Only In the 21st century did the marketing of the harmful effects get the necessary push. Recently this thought made home in my mind; When does it kill? The point of no return?
About 50% of regular tobacco users die of its harmful effects, Worldwide it kills more than 8 million people each year (Close to the total population of Sierra Leone) of which 7 Million result of direct use and 1.2 million due to indirect exposure. Of the 1.3 Billion active tobacco users 80% live in low and middle-income countries.
While tobacco is consumed in various forms, Cigarette smoking is the most common form of tobacco use.
The Process
Cigarette smoke releases over 5000 different chemicals and at least 70 of them are carcinogenic. The most well studied and popular among these is Benzopyrene (BP) a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon.
As the smoke enters our lungs it harms the DNA structure of the cells. Now the cells can repair the damaged DNA however the constant exposure leads to a build-up of corroded DNA further leading to cancer-causing mutations.
So is there anything known as safe smoking?
No! There is not. From 1 cigarette a day the risk establishes itself. Some studies point out that even occasional smokers have a higher chance of dying early than non-smokers.
So back to the question, when does a cigarette kill? Well let me put it as simply as possible; You walk the edge from the day you had your first. Thank nature if you made it out alive and have left smoking. Thank nature, yet again, if you have not and are still alive.
(Sources: Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Cancer Research UK, World health research organization)
