Ramadhan is a month for spiritual elevation and to practise good deeds which can be replicated through the rest of the year. But it is also a month when one can try to quit some bad habits like smoking.
Dr Manar al Zeedi, Senior Specialist in Family Medicine at the Ministry of Health (MoH), the major reason one should quit smoking is because it entails inhaling over 5,000 chemicals directly to the lungs and to the other parts of the body jeopardising one's life.
"Ramadhan is a month to abide by the divine principles and to observe moderation in everything and to stay away from actions which are forbidden to mankind," Dr Manar said.
According to her, stopping smoking during the month is easier than we think and all one needs to have is faith in the Almighty.
“If the fasting person can go without a cigarette, sheesha or other tobacco products for almost 16 hours every day during Ramadhan it is a great achievement. S/he will also be able to quit forever,” she said.
Dangers of smoking “It may sound cliché but advanced studies have found that tobacco use harms every organ of the human body. Believe it or not, besides nicotine, more than 5,000 chemicals including cancer-causing agents, are directly delivered into your lungs, blood and organs while using tobacco." Such colossal damage caused by smoking results in shortening one’s lifespan significantly.
In many countries, smoking is the number 1 cause of preventable deaths. Pregnant women who smoke put their foetuses at risk. Other possible effects on pregnancy include ectopic pregnancy, a life-threatening condition when the embryo implants outside the uterus; miscarriages; stillbirths; congenital conditions such as cleft palate; and low birth weight.
After having decided to quit that habit, one should write them down on a paper about what makes you smoke. Patches and gums are advisable but they are not good over a long period of time because their consumption over a period of time can cause damage.
Statistics show that millions of people lose their lives to smoking and in the US alone, every year, roughly 480,000 people die from smoking-related diseases. That means that for every person who dies from smoking, at least 30 others live with a serious smoking-related illness.
Alternatives are danger too Contrary to what many people have believed that smoking a cigar is safer than smoking a cigarette, cigar smokers too face many of the same potential risks as cigarette smokers, including cancer. Also, smokeless tobacco contains almost 30 cancer-causing chemicals.
The e-cigarettes also known as vapes, which are fast catching up with the youth, are not safe either. Vaping delivers more concentrated nicotine than cigarettes in a smokeless inhaled mist (vapour). Health risks from vape products range from asthma to COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) and cancer.
“Remember, the right decision that a smoker can take this month is to choose to quit smoking which is a huge step toward living a healthy life. Ramadhan is the most ideal month to stop such habits that harm one’s health,” said Dr Manar.
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
