Dire warnings given

A medical specialist in Papua New Guinea has given to a local newspaper a wide-ranging review of the health problems caused by tobacco smoking.

The Nation said that, according to a senior consultant at the Pacific International Hospital, smoking killed 3,500 Papua New Guineans annually through lung cancer.

Obstetrician and gynecologist Dr. Mathias Sapuri was quoted as saying that tobacco products contained acetone, tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide, and were harmful to the entire body.

The risk of developing a variety of health problems was said to increase with smoking.

Sapuri said unhealthy teeth, persistent cough, bronchitis, mood stimulation, anxiety and irritability were some of the common immediate effects of smoking.

But over time, the damage to lungs led to increased infections, with smokers having a higher risk of developing chronic non-reversible lung conditions.

“Smoking damages the entire cardiovascular system of the human body,” Sapuri said.

“Nicotine causes blood vessels to tighten which restricts the flow of blood. The ongoing narrowing can cause peripheral artery disease.

“Smoking also raises blood pressure, weakens blood vessel walls and increases blood clots which raise the risk of stroke.”

Sapuri said smokers were at an increased risk of worsening heart disease if they had already had heart bypass surgery, a heart attack, or a stent placed in a blood vessel.

Smoking was also detrimental to those who did not smoke; so children whose parents smoked were more prone to coughing, wheezing, and asthma attacks than children whose parents did not.