These Are Important Factors That Make It Difficult For People To Quit Smoking

Smoking for some people is a lifestyle and even a daily habit. This is a very worrying condition for human life today. There are a number of reasons why it is difficult for people to quit smoking over the years. A Practitioner Prof. Dra. RA. Yayi Suryo Prabandari, M.SI, P.HD, from Gadjah Mada University Yogyakarta from Indonesia said that there are several reinforcing factors so that people will find it difficult to quit smoking. 

 

Among them:

1. Cigarettes have addictive substances

Addictive Cigaretes

Yayi revealed, the first and foremost reason why people find it difficult to quit smoking, namely because cigarettes or tobacco are addictive. He explained about the nicotine addiction cycle contained in cigarettes. When nicotine is absorbed into the blood and passed to the brain, it will be accepted by receptors. After that, there is the release of dopamine which provides a sense of comfort. 

When dopamine is depleted, the sense of comfort disappears and the urge to return to smoking arises. "And so on, so that people find it difficult to quit smoking," Yayi explained when he was a resource person in the Webinar Tips to Stop Smoking in the New Normal Era with the Center for Behavior and Health Promotion FKKMK UGM, FCTC Indonesia, and Quit Tobacco Indonesia.

Meanwhile, when smokers stop smoking, nicotine withdrawal symptoms will appear which cause the body to feel uncomfortable. This is because the neurotransmitters that have had a comfortable effect on smokers have the opposite effect, such as coughing, feeling unwell, headaches, difficulty sleeping, and others. Therefore, people will find it increasingly difficult to quit smoking.

2. The price of cigarettes is relatively cheap

Yayi assessed that it is difficult for people to quit smoking because the price of cigarettes in several countries is still affordable. This condition is different from what happened in several other countries that pay attention to the dangers of smoking. Where, the price of cigarettes in that country is deliberately made very expensive so that it can only be bought by certain groups who have more money.

3. Understanding of the dangers of smoking is not maximal

Yayi saw, what is happening now, the socialization of the dangers of smoking is "unbalanced" with cigarette promotions and advertisements. People who do not know about the dangers of smoking will increasingly become and believe that smoking is a harmless act and can even increase life motivation. Such as the promotional sentence offered by a number of cigarette industries.

4. Not all people "side" with not smoking

Not only show permissiveness and apathy towards smoking, some people even choose to oppose the attitude of not smoking. They prefer to smoke because there are some parties who on the contrary give positive points to smoking. Among them are like removing the stiffness in discussions or as friends when alone. And this is very dangerous for people who do not know about the dangers of smoking.

5. Image of cigarettes

ads from cigarettes

 

The public is distracted by the “positive” image of cigarettes which is reinforced by advertisements, sponsorship and industry-funded “programs” (because they sell products). As a result, information on the health hazards of cigarettes is not accessible to the wider community, even many of them do not know the dangers of smoking to health.

 

The journey of people becoming smokers

Yayi explained, there are many ways a person can become a smoker. They can even start smoking from pre-school age. 

The following is the journey to become a smoker according to the age group based on the identification results of the Chair of the UGM Health Promoting University (HPU):

Pre-school age: Smoking because of imitating others around him (imitation) Logic of thinking has not developed optimally Behavior is influenced by parents

Pre-adolescents smoke because there are adult models of smoking, it can be older siblings, parents, teachers, and others. The process is through identification, imitation, social reinforcement and conformity

Adolescents: Smoking apart from the adult model of smoking, it is also a form of rebellion. Peer and peer pressure The conformity process is quite strong at this stage in two categories, through socialization and selection

Adult: Smoking because of curiosity, Influence of smokers around him, Receptive to marketing. Yayi realized that for some people, quitting smoking might be difficult to do because of the effects of nicotine addiction.

 

However, it is worth fighting for because the dangers of smoking are very real, such as increasing the chances of developing lung cancer. He explained that cigarette acid contains carcinogenic or toxic substances, including benzene and formaldehyde. "Smoking makes a person more vulnerable to viruses, bacteria and other diseases," said the Coordinator of Quit Tobacco in Indonesia.

Meanwhile, during the Covid-19 pandemic, Yayi said smoking can increase the risk of transmitting the new corona virus and will exacerbate disease complications due to Covid-19.

According to him, smoking activity is prone to become a vehicle for Covid-19 transmission because it involves intense finger contact that may be contaminated with the mouth.

 

"Smoking makes a person more vulnerable to viruses, bacteria and other diseases,"

This provides an opportunity for the virus from the fingers to move to the mouth and enter the body.

If smokers are infected with Covid-19, it will aggravate their body condition because they tend to already have problems in their lungs due to chemicals that are inhaled while smoking.

So, it is really very dangerous for smokers because of the broad and comprehensive effects. 

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