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Most of the orientations about food, nutrition and health approach the use of tabacco. The tabacco and its derivates are harmful to health and kill about 5 millions of people every year, all over the world and about 200 thousands just in Brazil (PAN AMERICAN HEALTH ORGANIZATION, 2002).
So, there are no more reasons to consider the approach of tabacco, cigar and derivates just as a behavior option or a life style. Nowadays the tabaccoism is largely recognized as a cronical disease caused by the nicotine dependence and it is also classified in the International Diseases Classification (CID-10) of World Organization of Health. The tobaccoism is continuously displaying the tabacco consumers to about 4700 toxicant substances, being 60 of them cancerous for human being (WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION, 1999c).
Such exposition makes the tobaccoism the most important isolated risk of serious and fatal diseases. It is related to the tabacco consum: 45% of death caused by heart diseases (myocardium infarct), 85% of death caused by chronical obstructive pulmonary diseases (emphysema), 25% of death by brain vascular acident and 30% of death caused by cancer. It is important to notice that 90% of the pulmonary cancer appears in smokers (WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION, 2005)
Nowadays the tobaccoism is also considered a pediatric disease because 90% of smokers start smoking before being 19 years old and the average of starting is 15 years old. Each day about 100.000 young people start smoking in the world and 80% of them live in developed countries (WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION, 2005). After the 70’s, some researches results started being published showing that besides the risk for smokers, children exposed to the environmental tabacco exibit an average of respiratory diseases higher than in children that were not exposed. (REPACE; ACTION ON SMOKING AND HEALTH, 2003).
Recent studies show that nonsmokers exposed to the smoke of tabacco have 30% of risk of developing pulmonary cancer and 24% of risk of developing heart diseases than nonsmokers that are not exposed. In U.S.A. it’s estimated that the exposition to the tabacco smoke is responsable for about 3 thousands death each year, due to the pulmonar cancer among nonsmokers. (REPACE; ACTION ON SMOKING AND HEALTH, 2003).
Women and children compound the biggest risk because of the passive exposition at home. Besides, the effects of the passive tobaccoism also occurs because of the exposition in the work environment, where most of workers is not protected from the involuntary exposition of the tabacco smoke and because of the absence of secure and health rules in work environments. In the present, the World Health Organization considers the exposition to the tabacco smoke an employmental risk factor (WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION, 2005).
The National Program of tobaccoism control systemizes four great strategical groups: the first one is turned to the prevention of the beginning of tobaccoism, that aims children and teenagers. The second one involves actions that estimulate smokers to stop smoking, and a third one where there are directions aiming protection to nonsmokers from tabacco smoke exposition in closed places. At least rules that guide the tobacco products and their commercialization (BRAZIL, 2003g).
In 15 years, the developed actions reduced the rate of smokers in Brazilian population from 32% in 1989 to 19% in 2003. The average is similar to those found nowadays in U.S.A. and Canada, countries that are leading the tobaccoism control. (BRAZIL, 2003g).
Source - MINISTERY OF HEALTH
Secretaryship of Attention to Health
General Coordination of Food and Nutrition Politics
www.saude.gov.br/bvs
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