Tag: tobacco marshal

Tobacco – Enjoy to Suffer

The start of the journey of a tobacco user is of enjoyment. The tobacco is packed and advertised to attract the youth. The flavor, menthol, etc added to tobacco – smoking. chewing or vaping is to make it an enjoyable thing. But the addictive factor added to it is slowly affecting the brain making it irresistible. The youth are attracted to tobacco by surrogate advertisements and misleading advertisements.

TOBACCO ENJOY TO SUFFER

Cigarettes contain 7000 chemicals, of these 200 are severely harmful and 69 are cancer-causing chemicals. In chewing tobacco similar constituents with 28 very harmful carcinogens. The Vaping device also contains chemicals that are leading to new forms of diseases.

No chemicals cause acute injury, it is a journey. In simple words, tobacco will not cause any diseases immediately. Its chronic use will slowly take its toll. Slowly diseases appear and it affects the body, initially reversible and later irreversible. This can be any time from the start of the tobacco journey and depends on many other factors. 200 types of diseases have been documented to be caused by tobacco. Tobacco users will have some or other diseases related to tobacco use, they cannot escape! In India, the introduction of chewing tobacco in the 1970s  and massive advertisements brought a new form of disease Oral and oropharyngeal Cancers and Submucous fibrosis. Now, we are the World’s highest in these diseases.

If you have taken tobacco for some time and you think you are not suffering, you are mistaken. The brain is adapting to your tobacco use, its function starts deteriorating, and to keep up with its pace as a non-tobacco user, the demand for tobacco keeps increasing. You are in a vicious cycle.

The journey starts with some foolish person enticing you to your first tobacco – smoking, chewing, or vaping will soon turn into suffering for yourself and for your relatives. These are the phases of tobacco use that will ultimately end in a painful untimely death.

Your present choice will determine your future life! #knowtobacco to choose your life journey.  

Tobacco is a disease.  Tobacco industries are enticing the new generation with newer forms, packaging, and flavors. One has to be smart not to start. For those who have started it is important they quit the earliest. Quitting needs hand-holding by a certified tobacco cessation specialist. Look for someone around you or call 011-43077695 or download the app- ICanCaRe at http://app.icancare.in

Every day 5500 youths are trapped and they start tobacco. Every day 3700 are dying a painful death. We have to change this scenario. Every unit must have a TOBACCO MARSHAL. Join a Tobacco MARSHAL to SAVE the youth! http://icancare.in/academy/marshal

 (The Author – Dr. Pawan Gupta M.Ch. is Director of Surgical Oncology at Max Super Speciality Hospital, Vaishali. Patparganj and Noida. He is the author of the book – Win Over Tobacco Made Easy, Be Smart Do Not Start and is highly recognized for his work on Oral Cancer and Tobacco Cessation. He is the convenor for the Certified Course in Tobacco Cessation at Gujarat University. He launched the #SAVEtheyouth campaign and Tobacco MARSHALs in the community)

 (Critically reviewed by Tobacco MARSHAL Sonal Bhatia, Shubh Bhatia, and Lakshay Srijay Gupta)

Women Power as a TOBACCO MARSHAL – Stree Shakti – INNER WHEEL District 310

ICanCaRe – INNER WHEEL District 310

The Responsibility of Being a TOBACCO MARSHAL

To win a battle we need skilled and armed Soldiers. Battle against the MAYAVI RAWAN TAMBAKU-ASUR has begun with Inner wheel District 310 taking the stride under the leadership of DC SONAL BHATIA.

The Winning battle is started, and the recruitment is on. The might of tambaku-asur cannot be underestimated – the manufacturers, the vendors, the poor farmers, irresponsible media, greedy actors, and poorly informed politicians. They are responsible for the death of around 3700 people every day. A death that is prolonged, painful, and kills the person and ruins the family.

The shakti is born in the form of SONAL BHATIA -sincere, dedicated, and determined. JO SOCCHTE , WHO KAHTE HAIN aur KAR KE DIKATE HAIN. The stubbornness of SONAL BHATIA is the death knell for tambakuasur. She is recruiting the SHEROES as tobacco MARSHAL to take the tambaku-asur head-on. The mighty clever asur with its ever-increasing tentacles needs a well-planned, determined skilled army, and when the NARI SHAKTI with SONAL BHATIA at the helm rises the winning of the battle is inevitable.

Each Tobacco MARSHAL is a unit of power. Doing their bit in their surroundings starting from their home protecting family and influencing the workers – maids, drivers, malli, stepping out to involve and influence others. BOOND – BOOND SE GHADA BAHRTA HAIN. The determination is clear the goal is set and responsibility defined – reach 3 teach 3 make India Tobacco Free.

We bow to the power of Women Shakti! We are with you Sonal.

 

I’m a Tobacco Marshal

ICanCaRe Tobacco Marshal certificate program has been designed for all the healthcare workers, teachers, social activists and others working at the grass root levels for the wellbeing and welfare of the society. This program empowers an individual to create awareness, become more vigilant about Tobacco use and it’s harms not only from the mainstream smoke but also from the second hand and third hand smoke.

We, the marshals, are the gamechangers and influencers in the society who shall be able to address the tobacco habit in an individual, address the concerns on the harms of tobacco use, address concerns on withdrawals, address the fear of quitting and ultimately incept the thought of quitting the habit at an early stage before severe damages are experienced by the tobacco consumer. We are responsible to encourage an individual to self-quit or seek professional assistance so that we can contribute towards a healthier nation.

With this certificate program, we are equipped with the adequate knowledge to create awareness among the youth that tobacco is a pernicious and neurobiological disease. One must refrain from it fully – even from the first experiment.

This program also taught me about e-cigarettes, now banned in the country but also available illegally; about its various forms and how to identify it. I can now help my friends and people around me, especially young children to identify it and not be enticed by strangers into consuming it.

Marshal is an officer of the highest rank in the armed forces. Hence the title itself suggests the level of responsibility that this title holds for each one of us. We must contribute towards a cleaner, greener and healthier community! Let’s be the Tobacco Marshals and unite together to fight against this disease!

This certificate program is an interactive training program of four hours consisting of 2 live sessions with the faculty.  It included many crucial and critical topics like: 

  • Understanding tobacco 
  • Understanding addiction
  • Understanding harms of tobacco use
  • Recognizing new forms of tobacco – e-cigarettes
  • Addiction recovery
  • Second hand (SHS) and third hand smoke (THS)
  • Contributing towards community welfare as Marshals

The most interesting part of the workshop was the session on SHS/THS that busted many myths and misconceptions about the same. Other interesting areas included e-cigarettes and hookah smoking that was very well explained by the faculty and clearly stated that these products contain nicotine and are equally harmful as other forms of tobacco. It was interesting to note that water in the hookah does not filter the chemicals and toxins, as against the common belief that it does.

We also learnt about identifying the signs and symptoms of tobacco use in young children and youth and how to address the same so that the individual can have the right intervention at the right time before experiencing any fatal damages. One can now quit by calling the helpline number 011-430-77695 or visiting the website here.

I heartily thank Rishabh sir, Pawan sir, Shruti ma’am, Reena ma’am and the entire team of ICanCaRe for kickstarting this wonderful initiative of freedom from slavery of tobacco and entrusting in me this responsibility of Tobacco Marshal to make a better India, a Swachh and Swasth India.