Is smoking a bad habit?

Smoking is not something new among people. A cross-section of the society is into it. Smoking has become a part of society and is not even considered a bad habit.

It is to be said since 600 BC tobacco plants have started to be planted.  It was Columbus who saw the Indians smoking tobacco, particularly in certain ceremonies as a symbol of hospitality. 

Multiple studies have shown the health risks of smoking, but that does not make it disappears as most smokers seemed not to care much about the results of the study.  Smoking is one of the bad habits that are difficult to abandon.

Cigarettes contain more than 59 known carcinogenic substances. It is the main preventable cause of premature death. Smoking contributes to diseases that result in death such as heart disease and lung cancer.

In 2008, Indonesia had been established as the third-largest country as a cigarette user by the World Health Organization (WHO).

According to the study more than 60 million people in Indonesia experience addictions and deaths from cigarette consumption with a record of more than 400 thousand deaths per year.

A cigarette is injurious to health. It contains various components which caused adverse effects is as follows:

• More than 4,000 kinds of chemicals

• More than 59 known to be carcinogenic substances

• Several metal components and free radicals

• Contain tar and nicotine

• direct effect on the oral cavity

Tar is one of the carcinogenic substances found in cigarettes, while nicotine is an addictive substance that causes dependency or addiction.

Smokers believe that the use of filters can reduce the negative effects of smoking.  Though filters only reduce nicotine levels between 25% -50%, while the rest enters the body.  The moment tar is entered into the bloodstream is quite dangerous and cause damaging the oral cavity.

In fact, continuity stimulation of cigarette smoke can cause damaging effects towards oral mucosa, one of which is smoker’s melanosis pigmentation.  This disorder is directly related to smoking habits regarding the length of smoking and the number of cigarettes consumes, which we are called active smokers. 

• filter smokers

• occurrence of smoker’s melanosis

In addition, the number of males is relatively higher as compared to the number of females and particularly male students are found in the category of the age of 18- 23 years. 

In general, smoking habits can be based on relationships between:

Apparently a smoker’s melanosis is likely to increase in people with longer smoking habits.  The smoker’s melanosis is influenced by the length of smoking of an individual, the longer an individual smokes, the more likely he/ she is to have a smoker’s melanosis.

Smoker’s melanosis is hyperpigmentation of the oral mucosa.  The prevalence of smokers with smoker’s melanosis are wondering does it needs treatment or not.  Though smoker’s melanosis is a benign disorder in the oral cavity that does not require treatment, however, the lesion form on the gingiva will greatly disrupt the aesthetics.

There has been a strong relationship between smoking and a smoker’s melanosis. In addition, the assumption of the use of filters on cigarettes can reduce the adverse effects of smoking. 

The general perception is how one can have a smoker’s melanosis.  The smoker’s melanosis is influenced by the length of smoking of an individual, the longer an individual smokes, the more likely he/ she is to have a smoker’s melanosis.

Now, it is quite apparent that smoker’s melanosis occurs more often in people who have a greater daily smoking habit.  It is based on the theory that a smoker’s melanosis is influenced by the number of cigarettes consumed. The more cigarettes we consume each day, the more likely we are to have smoker’s melanosis.

Smoker’s melanosis is a type of pigmentation that appears quite often in people who have a smoking habit.  However, it should be noted that a smoker’s melanosis is not a lesion that would lead to malignancy. If one is stopped smoking within a few months to several years, there is a possibility that the clinical symptoms can be resolved.  So, it is the choice of an individual to abstain from smoking. 

Since a smoker’s melanosis is a type of pigmentation and this pigmentation is stimulated by various drugs such as nicotine (polycyclic mixture material) contained in a cigarette.

Nicotine (C10H14N2) is an alkaloid chemical compound that has a strong and stimulant effect on the human body, so it will cause addictive effects for anyone who is addicted.  Nicotine is also known to play a role in the stimulating melanin found in the skin and other tissues such as the oral mucosa.  It can disrupt the stability of the melanin pigment.  Melanin is a type of natural pigment that is synthesized in the human body.  Melanosis can be caused by two things. First, physical and chemical reactions and the second is increasing the number of melanin pigments.

As the longer and more a person smokes, the more melanin pigment deposits. It has been shown that there is a relationship between smoking habits in filter smokers with the occurrence of smoker’s melanosis in terms of smoking duration and the number of cigarettes consumed.

Perceptibly, smoking is one of the bad habits. Cigarettes contain more than 59 known carcinogenic substances. It also contains some metal components and free radicals. Though smoking is difficult to abandon yet the study reflects the adverse effects of smoking, the choice is yours.