Smoking, one in four Salentino victims. Women are smoking more and more

COPERTINO – Just under a third of tobacco smokers, followed by the anti-smoking center of the local health authority of Lecce between 18 and 25 yearswhile he was already in high school, one in four students is used to smoking. According to the data collected during therapeutic activity and surveys conducted, the exposure of young people to the risks arising from cigarette consumption remains worrying, but suggests a sense of confidence in the fact that positive results are obtained in this age group. in the way to quit smoking.

The risks badociated with tobacco consumption and the need to work on prevention were discussed at a conference organized in Nardò as part of the second Tobacco Prevention Day which brought together doctors, operators, citizens and especially students.

Alberto Fedele, director of the Health and Public Health Service of Lecce, described the context of Salento: "The contrasting point of view on which we must spend is to create the system." We carry out a constant survey on the territory and we can say that the province of Lecce is better than Puglia: one in four is a smoker, there are about 127,000 smokers, a quarter of former smokers, more than 50% of non-smokers. going on to understand why dellHigh percentage of lung tumors in the province of LeccePerhaps caused by old habits of 15-20 years ago, when the problems badociated with smoking occur. That is why it is essential to adopt correct lifestyles and contrast some dynamics. Women are smoking more and more, with additional risks for pregnancy and for the baby in the womb. Older people smoke less, especially because they see the damage caused by smoking, while young people are less aware of it. We must therefore avoid thinking about it when smoking has already caused damage. "

The anti-smoking center of Lecce's Asl, based in Copertino, took over over the years 801 patients, including 559 men. The age group most involved in smoking is between 40 and 60 years old (45%). In 57% of cases, patients had a medium to high degree of dependence and in 84%, a nicotine dependence indicator of high intensity and a low tendency to quit smoking. The therapeutic program followed by the center lasts three months and includes integrated therapies – medical, psychological and educational -, psychotherapies, group therapies, counseling and educational support. Hypnosis is expected as an alternative treatment. There are ten sessions on average and follow-up activities at the sixth, ninth and twelfth months.

A quarter of those who turned to the center, often on the information of their attending physician, quit smoking, while 7% reported relapses in the year. Another quarter reduced the number of cigarettes consumed by two-thirds, one third of the total decreased by one-third. In 11% of cases, no results were obtained. The positive results are recorded, as well as in the under 25s, even among the over 50s and, in any case, more common among men.

According to the Instituto Superiore di Sanità, smoking is prohibited responsible for one-third of all cancer deaths and 15% of deaths, whatever the cause, making more deaths than alcohol, AIDS, drugs, car accidents, murders and suicides. Dr. Francesco Tarantino recounted the experience of the Copertino center: "There is one death by smoke every 8 seconds in the world and seven million a year, 11 million smokers in Italy, 1.5 million in Apulia: Smoking is an addiction, a brain disease in its oldest part, the emotional brain, but it is also something more: a discomfort that affects our existence.

Tarantino, smoking is a pathology "that damages all organs and causes coughing, bronchitis, allergies, sinusitis, stroke, heart attack, hypertension.Total diseases cause 84 000 deaths per year in Italy. So, there are components that, by binding to DNA, alter the balance with which our body defends itself against carcinogens, exposing us to the appearance of tumors. Smoking twenty cigarettes per day for one year equals 25 X-ray examinations. "

Nine out of ten lung cancer cases can be attributed to the carcinogenic substances in the cigarette, but they also favor, in a different way, the throat and the oral cavity, the pancreas, the colon, the bladder, the esophagus, bad and some leukemia. It must be remembered that smoking is a risk factor, even if the smoker is not, but is a victim of second-hand smoke or so-called third-party smoke in the open air.

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