Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
The American Mission Hospital treats all manner of diseases caused by smoking and wants to help the kingdom's puffers to stamp out the evil weed.
Dr Babu Ramachandran, above, head of the hospital's Smoking Cessation Clinic writes for GulfWeekly on why it is so important to take that first step to giving up ... NOW
All of us take risks. Risks can bring rewards and thrills. There's nothing like a parachute jump or bungee jump to get the adrenalin going.
The word risk implies an element of danger. But when you meet a risk that is the worst thing that you can do for your health, what should you do?
Years ago smoking was not considered a risk to health it was even advertised as healthy.
In 1950, 80 per cent of men in the UK smoked. It was fashionable and a normal part of life.
Sir Richard Doll a British physiologist changed that. He pioneered the link between smoking and health problems. His study on 40,000 British doctors lasted over 50 years. His final results, published in the British Medical Journal, were:
81 per cent of non-smokers survived to age 70.
58 per cent of smokers survived to age 70.
42 per cent had died from lung cancer, heart attacks and chronic lung disease.
His other conclusions which remain true today are:
Smoking decreases life span by up to 10 years recent statistics quote 14 years.
50 per cent of smokers will die from a smoking related disease.
According to the World Health Organisation tobacco consumption is the single leading preventable cause of death, causing the premature death of nearly five million people a year worldwide. That could double to 10 million a year by 2020.
Developed countries have been successful in cutting cigarette smoking, with measures following the WHO Framework on Tobacco Convention of 2003.
In the United States, less than 20 per cent of adults were smokers in 2007. However, cigarette companies are finding new customers in developing countries. Forty per cent of the world's smokers live in two nations - China and India.
So why is smoking worse for our health than anything else?
Smoking harms nearly every organ of the body; causing many diseases and reducing the general health of smokers.
The adverse health effects of smoking cause an estimated 438,000 deaths, each year in the United States. That is more than all deaths from HIV, illegal drug use, alcohol use, motor vehicle injuries, suicides, and murders combined.
Cancer - Smoking causes about 90 per cent of lung cancer deaths in men and almost 80 per cent in women. The risk of dying from lung cancer is over 23 times higher among male smokers and about 13 times higher among women compared with non-smokers.
Heart disease - Cigarette smokers are two to four times more likely to develop coronary heart disease than non-smokers.
Stroke - Cigarette smoking approximately doubles a person's risk of a stroke.
But non-smokers are also at risk.
Passive smoking - Secondhand smoke contains 250 toxic chemicals, including over 50 that can cause cancer. Non-smokers exposed to secondhand smoke increase their heart disease risk by 25-30 per cent and their lung cancer risk by 20-30 per cent.
Is it too late to give up smoking ?
No. Even after 24 hours your chance of a heart attack decreases, after three months your circulation improves and your lung function increases by up to 30 pre cent. After one year your risk of coronary heart disease is half that of a smoker.
For Further Information on how to stop smoking contact AMH Smoking Cessation Clinic Dr Babu Ramachandran on 17253447.
