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Most of us have a vague idea that smoking is a habit that can have many serious implications on our health, but there is a tendency to view the problem lightly. It’s important that every smoker (or even potential smoker) be aware of the facts concerning smoking:
- One out of every five deaths in the world is caused by tobacco
- Smoking is to blame for many serious pulmonary and cardiovascular diseases
- Tobacco and nicotine are some of the most potent carcinogens and are to blame for a majority of all cancers of the lung, trachea, bronchus, larynx, and esophagus
- Smoking causes cancer in the pancreas, kidney, bladder, and cervix
- Impotency is sometimes to blame from addiction to nicotine because of its ability to reduce blood flow
- Smoking is an important risk factor for respiratory illnesses, causing 85,000 deaths per year from pulmonary diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and pneumonia
- Children and adolescents who are active smokers will have increasingly severe respiratory illness, as they grow older
- Smoking during pregnancy causes about 5-6% of prenatal deaths, 17-26% of low-birth-weight births, and 7-10% of pre-term deliveries, and it increases the risk of miscarriage and fetal growth retardation
- Cigarettes are responsible for about 25% of deaths from residential fires, causing nearly 1,000 fire-related deaths and 3,300 injuries each year.
It's obvious from these statistics that smoking is not merely a form of relaxation or a lifestyle choice, it has far-reaching health consequences for the family as a whole. If growing up children and teens are educated about the evils of smoking from an early, they would think twice before taking even a puff and would discourage others in their peer group.
Declaring the home a no-smoking zone
Make it physically impossible for a smoker to light up a cigarette at home. Passive smoking, where people around the smoker are forced to inhale the smoke and carcinogens exhaled while smoking, has been found to be as harmful as smoking. If you have someone in the family who smokes, make it clear to them firmly and gently that they are putting the health of their innocent loved ones at risk by smoking at home, and they should abstain for their sake. This small step alone can reduce the number of cigarettes a person smokes per day and goes a long way in helping them quit completely.
Seek medical help and advice
Often people assume that getting rid of the smoking habit is a matter of simple will power. Constant smoking leads to nicotine addiction, which is just like any other drug addiction and has to be treated medically. Simply wishing the problem away will lead to failure, causing the smoker to feel helpless and dejected. There are a number of medical options like a patch which releases a small quantity of nicotine in the blood, and helps a smoker get over their cravings. You can seek medical advice on behalf of a family member if they are not inclined to visit a doctor themselves.
Call towards patience and prayer
People all over the world are trying to quit and stay away from cigarettes and statistics show that factors like a person's standard of living, level of education, income and support from family and friends all affect the final outcome. The better-informed people are and the more family support they get, the more likely they are to quit smoking.
Explain to the smoker that quitting is not a lonely battle for them, they have the support and patience of their family to see them through. Sometimes, smokers need simple reminders from the Qur'an to inspire and motivate them, at other times they need to be physically distracted before the urge to smoke gets too strong. If you have a smoker in the family, encourage them to make frequent ablutions, especially when they are experiencing withdrawal symptoms like irritability, irrational anger and anxiety, and encourage them to stand for prayer.
Encourage smokers to go out as a family for outings instead of hanging out with a peer group or workplace friends who smoke. Pray for the afflicted person and seek Allah's help in getting them rid of a harmful habit and ask Allah the Exalted for refuge ('Aafiyah) in all matters.
