Smoking is a delayed-action poison

Dear friends! Today, on May 31, World No Tobacco Day is celebrated all over the world.

It’s no secret that this addiction causes serious health problems, including cancer. But smoking a cigarette, few people think about these severe consequences.

By tradition, we went to the thoracic department of the P.A. Herzen Moscow State Medical Institute, a branch of the NMRRC of the Ministry of Health of Russia, to talk with doctors who save the lives of patients with such a terrible diagnosis as lung cancer every day.

• My patient is a doctor herself, she works at the Children’s Hospital in Moscow. She was diagnosed with peripheral cancer of the middle lobe of the right lung, and exactly five days ago we performed a thoracoscopic operation, that is, minimally invasive surgery on the chest organs,” says Roman Valentinovich Rudakov, a thoracic surgeon at the P.A. Herzen Moscow State Medical Institute.

The patient in question is a pediatrician, her name is Tatiana. In an interview, she admitted that she had smoked for almost 20 years in the past. “Lung problems started 5 years ago after suffering from whooping cough. It was amazing that at the age of 60-odd I suffered from childhood illness very hard. That’s when I got an education, which, together with my fellow doctors, we observed for a very long time.” Tatiana said that, like many, she treated her health carelessly. “When I was young, I smoked, first as a student, because it was both fashionable and expanded your social circle. And then on duty. I quit smoking a long time ago and abruptly, after my mother’s illness. But I still missed this ritual, I missed the smell of smoke. When my husband continued to smoke, I enjoyed and inhaled smoke with pleasure, I was an active passive smoker,” Tatiana recalls.

• Today our patient is undergoing recovery in order to return to her usual life as soon as possible. “Now I’m not thinking about work, I want to start at least learning how to breathe normally,” Tatiana shares her emotions.
• Every cigarette smoked is dangerous, – Roman Valentinovich notes. And it’s not just about the usual cigarettes. “Both in the West and in our country, there are many articles about the dangers of vapes, ICOs and everything else. The fact is that certain tissues and the human body as a whole must be operated under certain conditions. Then it will work for a long time, reliably and with full dedication. And by inhaling all kinds of substances, resins, smoke, etc., we change the operating conditions of our mucosa, which leads to irreversible processes.”

Therefore, this addiction is fraught not only with the risk of lung cancer, but also bladder, larynx, and at least 15 different types of cancer. In addition, smoking entails not only the development of cancer, but also atherosclerosis, hypertension and much more. Smoking is a slow–acting poison.

Separately, it is worth recalling that lung cancer can occur at an early age, it is not necessary to smoke and “wait” for 30-40 years, as many people think. “Lung cancer is very aggressive in young patients. We very rarely see young people in the department, but I think for the simple reason that they don’t even have time to “reach” us. During my practice, I saw several young guys, they were around 20-30 years old. The disease developed so rapidly that we did not even have time to get a histological form of the tumor from them. Therefore, whenever a person picks up a cigarette, we must remember that he pays not only for his pleasure, sponsoring a good life to manufacturers, but at the same time loses precious days of his life!”.

At the end of the interview, Tatiana admitted that, having gone all this way and realizing the severity of the disease, she would never smoke. She wishes this to all those who smoke now, and especially to the younger generation. “Unfortunately, this factor plays a role. Don’t smoke, and take care of yourself!”.

Press Service of the NMRRC of the Ministry of Health of Russia