City of York Council is backing a powerful new campaign that has been launched this week to highlight how smoking damages the body and causes a slow and steady decline in a process akin to rotting.
It follows a new expert review that highlights the multiple impacts that toxic ingredients in cigarettes can have on your body.
Whilst many smokers know that smoking causes cancer and harms the lungs and heart, the new report highlights how it also damages:
- Bones and muscles – Smoking causes progressive harm to the musculoskeletal system, and has a negative impact on bone mineral density. Harms include:
- 25% increased risk of any fracture and a 40% increase in the risk of hip fractures among men
- Slower healing after injury
- Increased risk of back and neck pain, leading to a 79% increase in chronic back pain and a 114% increase in disabling lower back pain
- Significant cause of rheumatoid arthritis and can reduce the impact of treatment
- Brain – Current smokers are 53% more likely to develop cognitive impairment than non-smokers and 59% more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease
- Teeth – Smoking increases the likelihood of tooth loss and decay
- Eyes – Smoking damages sight by increasing the risk of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) by 78%-358% and increasing the risk of age-related cataracts
With New Year’s resolutions approaching and two thirds of smokers saying they want to quit, new adverts are being used to graphically illustrate the degeneration that smoking causes.
The campaign also tackles common misconceptions around hand-rolled tobacco, or roll-ups. Use of roll-ups has increased significantly. In 1990, 18% of male smokers and 2% of female smokers said they smoked mainly hand-rolled cigarettes but by 2013 this had risen to 40% for men and 23% for women.
New figures show that half of smokers (49%) who only smoke roll-ups wrongly believe they are less harmful than manufactured cigarettes. In fact, hand-rolled cigarettes are at least as hazardous as any other type of cigarette.
18.8% of adults who live in York and 33.2% of routine manual workers in the city smoke (compared to 20.3% and 30.7% regionally).
City of York Council’s Cabinet Member for Health and Community Engagement Councillor Linsay Cunningham-Cross said: “Much of the harm caused by smoking doesn’t become obvious until middle age but the invisible damage can start shockingly early – even by the late teens. The earlier a smoker quits the better, but quitting at any age can help reverse at least some of the damage. That’s why there is no time better than now to quit. Stop smoking and stop the rot.”
Smokers looking to quit are being encouraged to search ‘Smokefree’ online or telephone North Yorkshire and City of York Stop Smoking Service on 0300 303 1603 for the full range of free tools and support.