The saga of tobacco

Tobacco was believed to be a sacred plant and was used as a medicine by the medicine men and priests. It was also used to establish communication with the spirits and appease pain.

The tobacco plant originated form America. In 1492, Christopher Columbus the discoverer of America discovered tobacco in Cuba and imported tobacco for the first time to Europe.

Tobacco seeds were brought back to France for the first time in 1556 by André THEVET, monk from the Angoulême region where the queen was convinced of the medicinal properties of the plant. The use of Tobacco was promoted by Jean Nicot de Villemain, France’s ambassador to Portugal in 1560. By the efforts of Jean Nicot for the first time queen Catherine of Medici agreed to use tobacco powder as medicine in order to treat the painful migraines of her son François II.

The treatment was successful and tobacco became the “Queen's herb” whose sale in powder form was restricted to apothecaries. In homage to Jean NICOT, tobacco was henceforth called “Nicotiana Tabacum”. Then in 16th century tobacco became a fashion for Europeans.

It was smoked in regular parties and during ceremonies. Tobacco was produced commercially for the first time in the British colony of Virginia in 1612. In the cultivation of the crop the labors used were slaves brought form native countries.

Within seven years from that time Virginia became the largest exporters of commercial tobacco in the British colony.

Earlier tobacco was produced primarily for pipe smoking, chewing and snuff.

In 1600s cigarettes came into being after the civil wars in America which introduced a specially cured yellow leaf known as "bright" tobacco which is grown in Virginia and north California. In the beginning and role cigarettes were in the market which produced at the rate of three per minute.

In 1880 the first working cigarette making machine was invented which could produce 200 cigarettes a minute Which gave pace to the cigarette industry and now the fastest machines can produce 16000 cigarettes a minute. Making so many inventions in the tobacco industry the zygote of tobacco is an extremely labor intensive job.

References:
http://www.france-tabac.com/us/histoire.htm

Golden Leaf Barren Harvest

The First Step Towards The Beginning

Save the children , Save the environment and Save me- finally the voice reached the deaf ears and banged the door of their souls.

It was a scream of a child who has been suffocated and choked by the tobacco smoke and was waiting a just hearing to save his life and the life of others who want to step into this beautiful world.

This was an appeal from the environment and nature who cannot bear the pain of the rape of the forest cover and land any more. Above all it was the voice of we the people who care for the future of both and the present of our selves.

According to the constitution of India fundamental rights Art 21 says that none shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedures established by law. Article 47 requires the State to endeavor to improve public health as among its primary duties.

Tobacco smoke is proven to be damaging the health of the non-smokers involuntarily. Cigarettes biddi and other smoked tobacco products are responsible for the Second Hand Smoke (SHS), also know as Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS), which is a mixture of the smoke given off by the burning end of a cigarette, pipe or cigar and the smoke exhaled from the lungs of smokers.

Unfortunately, It is involuntarily inhaled by nonsmokers, lingers in the air hours after cigarettes have been extinguished. SHS has been classified by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a known cause of cancer in humans (Group A carcinogen).

According to Dr. K. Srinath Reddy, President, Public Health Foundation of India and a renowned cardiologist, "Tobacco smoke is a lethal weapon. Second Hand Smoke is an indiscriminate and inconsiderate assault on the health of non-smoker.

Keeping all the damages in view "The cigarettes and other tobacco product " Act was brought in front in 2003 but couldn't be implemented then due to some reasons. It took almost five years to decide upon the act and finally except some of the regulations of the act for eg. pictorial warnings on the packets of the tobacco products and a few others , the act has been implemented on a very historic and appropriate day - 2nd of October The Gandhi Jayanti.

According to this act smoking has been banned in all public places, school premises, hospitals, health care centers, public traveling, offices outdoor and indoor. The fine of 200 rs will be charged from the people who will not obey the rules initially but it can be increased to 1000rs in the future.

Almost 80 countries except India smoking is banned in public places, restaurants,hospitals , cultural centers, public transportation, work places, pubs , bars, private clubs, hotels, libraries , shopping malls,conference centers, sports areas, community halls, government buildings, schools,entertainment outlets and casinos. Bhutan is the first country where there is a national ban on the sale of tobacco products. Smoking in public places is iilegal in Bhutan since 22 February 2005.

These decisions are the result of the thoughts of the wise men all over the world who have realized the emergence of the ban on tobacco and related products and deply felt the pain and agony of the tobacco victims.

Tobacco – the root of social decadence.

From ancient times, Tobacco has been growing as an agricultural crop in the various parts of earth.

It has been the most widely grown plant of Nicotiana species which is a gender of herbs and shrubs of the nightshade family (family of flowering plants.) Many plants of nightshade family contain , a powerful neurotoxin that is particularly harmful to insects and its addiction is harmful to humans.

However, tobaccos contain a higher concentration of nicotine than most other plants. Tobacco is commercially produced and processed for cigarettes, biddi and other products which are chewed and smoked in every part of the world. Since 6000 BC tobacco was grown at a very wide scale on American continents until the mass production shifted to Asian countries in 1960s.

Tobacco production and consumption had been causing a huge damage to the environment in direct or indirect ways. I would like to draw your attention to some of the facts and events happening around us.

With the increase in production of tobacco in the Asian countries, the usage of insecticides and pesticides has shot up.

Resulting into infertile soil, soil erosion etc. Ironically the production of tobacco increased from before as the industry generates a huge profit to respective countries. Therefore, its production is encouraged and forests are raped for the plantation. And the land which has been used by tobacco plants affects the adjacent farm lands as well.

To procure these harmful tobacco leaves mass deforestation takes place.

Tobacco plants need huge water supply and then these water supplies are further depleted by the tobacco industry recommending the planting of quick growing, but water-thirsty eucalyptus trees.

In The Tobacco Atlas; Costs to the Economy (last accessed July 2, 2008), the WHO noted the impact of fires caused by smoking (10% of all fire deaths, killing 300,000 people, costing $27 billion). It also noted that 1987 the world’s worst forest fire in China was caused by cigarettes killing 300 people, leaving 5,000 homeless, and destroying 1.3 million hectares of land.

There are more indirect effects on the environment such as: ingredients like fuel and plastics used in cigarette lighters cause environmental damage, packaging of cigarettes causes mass deforestation etc.

Social damage:

In the countries like China, Brazil and India, tobacco industry gives way to child labor.

A huge school going child population works in making cigarettes, biddi and other tobacco products. A study in 1993, showed 78% of kids aged 10-14 and 55% of kids aged 7-9 worked full or part time in tobacco industries. Most of these kids have never seen school and about 90% do not go to school, in the foreign countries. In Brazil 750,000 workers are needed to bring the tobacco crop to the market and 520,000 of these people are 18 and under, while 32% are under the age of 14.

Tobacco promotes substance abuse in children. It is proven by facts that 90% of the people indulge in smoking in the adolescent age while they are in school.

Tobacco industry gives employment to thousands of children and women. For most of them it is the only source of earning bread and butter. As the consequence of their complete dependency on the tobacco industry their rights are often neglected and dishonored.

They are forced to face exploitation at the hands of the tobacco industry.

Hence, it increases the risk of women and child abuse perenniously.

Health damages:

IN all tobacco made products cigarettes are most commonly smoked. Well if any of the readers smoke a lot please look at the harmful chemicals present in it:

A chemical used to preserve dead bodies: FORMALDEHYDE
A chemical used in pest control- ARSENIC / D.D.T
Nuclear waste a radioactive agent- POLONIUM 210
A chemical used to make plastic-vinyl chloride
A chemical with pungent odor used in fertilizers & as a cleaning agent- AMMONIA

By just seeing the names of the chemicals present we can estimate the danger cigarette causes to human life. Similarly, there are many harmful chemical present in other tobacco products also.

The list of diseases caused by tobacco now includes cancers of the kidneys, stomach, cervix, and pancreas as well as leukemia, cataracts, pneumonia, and gum disease. These illnesses are in addition to diseases previously known to be caused by smoking— bladder, esophageal, laryngeal, lung, oral, and throat cancers, chronic lung diseases, coronary heart and cardiovascular diseases, and sudden infant death syndrome. Smoking also reduces overall health, contributing to conditions such as hip fractures, complications from diabetes, increased wound infections following surgery, and various reproductive problems.

Smoking cigarettes with lower machine–measured yields of tar and nicotine does not help.

An estimated 200,000 workers die every year due to exposure to smoke at work; The US Environmental Protection Agency estimates that second-hand smoke is responsible for about 3000 lung cancer deaths annually among non-smokers in the country.

Analysis: By illustrating the above facts our motive is only to let people know that tobacco is only a harmful product. It harms environment, society and above all people’s health. In no way it can be useful to us. A famous U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Richard Carmona commented “There is no safe cigarette, whether it is called ‘light,’ ‘ultra–light,’ or any other name. “The science is clear: the only way to avoid the health hazards of smoking is to quit completely or to never start smoking.

Source: tobacco -global issues, wikipedia, FCTC reports, WHO Analysis.

A Shocking Reality

" Smokers die Young"a phrase often used by the people who support and feel extremely proud while convincing others who do not fit within the group.

Indeed with no doubts we also believe that smokers die young because the blessing to complete the life for them gets lost in every puff of cigarette.

We will be shocked by experiencing reality if we try to take a deep look of our country .

Every year 900,000 deaths occur in India due to cancer caused from smoking cigarettes and other Tobacco products and the figure can raise to one million in the next few years. In the north of India every one out of ten persons consume one or the other form of Tobacco.

Moving towards the east , in Mizoram 85% of men and 65% of women consume Tobacco . In West-Bengal 71% of people use Tobacco and related products. These are just the figures which show the adult population of India who smoke.

However, if we see our future makers our students we will be more shocked to experience the scenario.

According to a recent survey conducted by WHO, 22% of the school teachers and 14.1% of school students smoke and the data is expected to have a surprising hike. About 52% of children consume tobacco by having a strong influence of the movies over them.

The reality of course must have shocked you as it had shocked us. Still we refuse to admit it and live in our false reputation.

Most of us are ignorant and refuse to believe the fact that our children are being a prey into the hands of one our entertainment, two our ignorance and three our false reputation. If we are ready to accept reality and willing to change the current scenario, we have to make a very strong effort, an effort to spread awareness among our children and teachers to be aware of the crime they are committing every day by consuming tobacco and products every moment.

Indeed, smoking is a crime in the court of Humanity and Justice because when one person smokes he does not merely harm himself but he harms the people and the whole environment around him.

To inhale the smoke of Tobacco is as harmful as to smoke tobacco itself. By just inhaling the smoke one can become vulnerable to an extremely fatal disease called as cancer which has little remedy till date.

Therefore, we request you to think deeply to monitor your own actions and analise that if you are moving towards peace and harmony OR towards Fear and Death.

After all prevention is better than cure.