Smoking Is 'biggest Preventable Killer'

[peter991]

Smoking is 'biggest preventable killer'

Worse than obesity, alcohol, high cholesterol, road crashes, illicit drugs or unsafe sex - smoking is still the biggest cause of preventable death and disability in Australia.

A new report released by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) found that of 14 preventable health risks examined, tobacco was the worst cause of disease burden and the single biggest killer.

Killing more than 15,000 people in Australia in 2003, it was responsible for 12 per cent of all deaths in Australia that year.

Next in line as the worst health risks were high blood pressure, high body mass, physical inactivity and high blood cholesterol.

Alcohol, low fruit and vegetable consumption, illicit drugs, occupational hazards, domestic violence, child sexual abuse, air pollution, unsafe sex and osteoporosis were also risk factors, with all preventable risks together accounting for 32 per cent of the total burden of disease and injury in 2003.

Several also contributed to cardiovascular-related deaths such as strokes and heart attacks, which in 2003 killed almost 49,000 people, making up 37 per cent of all deaths in Australia.

AIHW spokesman John Goss said 70 per cent of all cardiovascular disease was caused by at least one of the preventable risk factors examined.

"We could get rid of 70 per cent of all cardiovascular disease if we didn't have these risk factors," Mr Goss said.

"And 30 per cent of cancers if people were not smoking and ate fruit and vegies and weren't overweight or obese."

Responding to the report, The Burden of Disease and Injury in Australia 2003, anti-smoking groups called for more funding for quit campaigns.

"We should not lose sight of the fact that tobacco is killing many more Australians than the combined total of all other leading causes - including illicit drugs, alcohol, car accidents, breast cancer and homicide," Action on Smoking and Health chief executive Anne Jones said.

"The latest federal budget included much needed new money for chronic diseases - of which smoking is a major risk factor. But there were no new tobacco control initiatives, despite evidence that every dollar spent yields a two dollar return on the investment."

Ms Jones said Australia spent less per capita on tobacco control than New Zealand, Canada, the United Kingdom and Ireland.

She called for a review of the government's current funding commitment of $9 million a year.

[Mighty Mouse]

...and to think that smokers spend an ever increasing small fortune buying this weed so that they can kill themselves.

[dseawarrior]

...and to think that smokers spend an ever increasing small fortune buying this weed so that they can kill themselves.

Nice terse, nonhelpful nonhumor from MM...

I thought MM was better than that!

Blaming and shaming victims of addiction(s) is exactly what helps to renew the addiction cycle...

Way to go MM!!! Thinking like this shows such skill, wonder and grace!

Instead of spreading nonhelpful crap, why not offer a link to the nonsmoking forum... ???

Or, if you were ever so lucky to be addicted and quit... what tips were useful to you to help yourself quit???

Based on your inane remark, I bet you never struggled with the addictions of nicotine...

Can we get some help and comments from a few people who are a bit more informed and sensitive to the travails of nicotine addiction? This a huge world health problem... Small thinkers need not apply to help... Blamers and shamers ought to put themselves in a very small box and...

Chok dee na,

dseawarrior

[Mighty Mouse]

Based on your inane remark, I bet you never struggled with the addictions of nicotine...

That is quite right, I am not addicted to nicotine or any other health harming substance for that matter. In fact I had the good common sense when I was a child not to experiment with such things.

My comment, which seems to have angered you, came as a direct flow on from the heading posted in Peters' opening post: "SMOKING IS THE BIGGEST PREVENTABLE KILLER."

The all important word being "Preventable."

Kids who are contemplating taking up the smoking habit need to have their heads kicked to knock some sense into them. Their smoking parents need to take some sort of influencing role in deterring their children from taking up a killer habit....and not necessarily 'smoking parents' but ALL parents.

Smokers who express enjoyment of smoking whilst partaking in this killer habit, particularly when such expressions are made in front of kids, need to take some responsibility for (inactively) encouraging others to take up the habit.

For you smokers who are addicted to nicotine and are trying to quit, you have my support but not my sympathy.

You have no one to blame but yourselves for your predicament.

I have made comment before in the Smoking Forum that the best and quickest way to stop smoking is to go cold turkey and have the intestinal fortitude to fight through to the end.

So Mr Warrior, you won't quit the habit by blaming the likes of me. Your fight is with yourself, the nicotine addiction and the advertising campaign from the tobacco companies, not with me.

.....and finally, my comment in my previous post, which has infuriated you, was not meant to be funny.

Edited May 27, 2007 by Mighty Mouse

[Jaonghais]

Based on your inane remark, I bet you never struggled with the addictions of nicotine...

That is quite right, I am not addicted to nicotine or any other health harming substance for that matter. In fact I had the good common sense when I was a child not to experiment with such things.

My comment, which seems to have angered you, came as a direct flow on from the heading posted in Peters' opening post: "SMOKING IS THE BIGGEST PREVENTABLE KILLER."

The all important word being "Preventable."

Kids who are contemplating taking up the smoking habit need to have their heads kicked to knock some sense into them. Their smoking parents need to take some sort of influencing role in deterring their children from taking up a killer habit....and not necessarily 'smoking parents' but ALL parents.

Smokers who express enjoyment of smoking whilst partaking in this killer habit, particularly when such expressions are made in front of kids, need to take some responsibility for (inactively) encouraging others to take up the habit.

For you smokers who are addicted to nicotine and are trying to quit, you have my support but not my sympathy.

You have no one to blame but yourselves for your predicament.

I have made comment before in the Smoking Forum that the best and quickest way to stop smoking is to go cold turkey and have the intestinal fortitude to fight through to the end.

So Mr Warrior, you won't quit the habit by blaming the likes of me. Your fight is with yourself, the nicotine addiction and the advertising campaign from the tobacco companies, not with me.

.....and finally, my comment in my previous post, which has infuriated you, was not meant to be funny.

Read Allen Carrs book. How to stop smoking permantely.

[DrFisher]

Obesity is the #1 killer in the USA however it is politically correct to harass smokers and and blame all the problems of society on them but how dare you call someone a fat pig and tell them they are crazy for eating an ice cream because it is killing them. If the government put some of the billions of dollars they got from tobacco tax and from sewing the tobacco companies into a free program to help people quit well.... that would be nice. I think it's a crime that it cost around $1000 USD for a good quit smoking program that has a chance of working and the government does nothing to subsidize it when they know full well the average American does not have that much money but they keep collecting the tobacco tax of $3.50 per pack. Sorry, I had to vent as this personal thing for me I have been quitting for the past 2 years to no end.

[Jaonghais]

Based on your inane remark, I bet you never struggled with the addictions of nicotine...

That is quite right, I am not addicted to nicotine or any other health harming substance for that matter. In fact I had the good common sense when I was a child not to experiment with such things.

My comment, which seems to have angered you, came as a direct flow on from the heading posted in Peters' opening post: "SMOKING IS THE BIGGEST PREVENTABLE KILLER."

The all important word being "Preventable."

Kids who are contemplating taking up the smoking habit need to have their heads kicked to knock some sense into them. Their smoking parents need to take some sort of influencing role in deterring their children from taking up a killer habit....and not necessarily 'smoking parents' but ALL parents.

Smokers who express enjoyment of smoking whilst partaking in this killer habit, particularly when such expressions are made in front of kids, need to take some responsibility for (inactively) encouraging others to take up the habit.

For you smokers who are addicted to nicotine and are trying to quit, you have my support but not my sympathy.

You have no one to blame but yourselves for your predicament.

I have made comment before in the Smoking Forum that the best and quickest way to stop smoking is to go cold turkey and have the intestinal fortitude to fight through to the end.

So Mr Warrior, you won't quit the habit by blaming the likes of me. Your fight is with yourself, the nicotine addiction and the advertising campaign from the tobacco companies, not with me.

.....and finally, my comment in my previous post, which has infuriated you, was not meant to be funny.

Read Allen Carrs book. The Only Way To Stop Smoking Permantely.

I was a 30 cigarette smoker a day. I read this book from cover to cover and found it interesting. After finishing this book I followed the instructions. I am now an ex smoker and have been for the past 3 weeks. No withdrawl symtoms or any others. No cravings. No tempations. This book can be downloaded from the net

[CTM]

You guys do realize these “studies” are rigged? They start with a conclusion and work backward to cherry pick data to support their position. Seldom are proper scientific controls in place to account for other factors.

Didn’t they used to say living in LA is like smoking 4 packs of cigarettes a day? What is Bangkok like then? Yet none of the cardiovascular disease is from pollution it is all from smoking. Oh right, the auto and petrochemical industries are rich and powerful we can’t talk bad about them. Definitely don't want to inconvenience some suburban soccer mom with her 8mpg SUV (makes her feel safe but a danger to everyone else), 5000 square foot McMansion (A/C or heat on high 24 hours per day), and daily shopping trips for made in China crap. Plus being subjected to pollution is not a choice.

I don’t believe alcohol doesn’t kill more people if you include alcohol related accidents and alcohol fueled crimes.

And all the xenoestrogens, corn syrup, processed bleached whatever they put in our food is worse. It lowers quality of life immediately. At least smokers know what they are doing is unhealthy and make a CHOICE to do it anyway. And it takes 60 years to kill them. It is almost impossible to get away from unhealthy foods. Even the fruits and vegetables are lower in nutritional value than 50 years ago.

Maybe if people ate better and exercised more they wouldn't susceptible to so many diseases. But can't tell them that because it would inconvenience them and might take some work and be unprofitable for major corporations.

[onzestan]

You guys do realize these “studies” are rigged? They start with a conclusion and work backward to cherry pick data to support their position. Seldom are proper scientific controls in place to account for other factors.

To further this, a couple of years ago a statistic showed that the province of Antwerp in Belgium had the highest average in lung cancer patients. So the conclusion was that the people in this province probable smoked more.

1 week later another statistic showed that the province of Antwerp had the lowest percentage of smokers of all the provinces in Belgium.

NOBODY drew the conclusion that maybe the fact that the port of Antwerp has the biggest concentration of chemical factories in Belgium might have something to do with it.

onzestan

[dseawarrior]

Based on your inane remark, I bet you never struggled with the addictions of nicotine...

That is quite right, I am not addicted to nicotine or any other health harming substance for that matter. In fact I had the good common sense when I was a child not to experiment with such things.

My comment, which seems to have angered you, came as a direct flow on from the heading posted in Peters' opening post: "SMOKING IS THE BIGGEST PREVENTABLE KILLER."

The all important word being "Preventable."

Kids who are contemplating taking up the smoking habit need to have their heads kicked to knock some sense into them. Their smoking parents need to take some sort of influencing role in deterring their children from taking up a killer habit....and not necessarily 'smoking parents' but ALL parents.

Smokers who express enjoyment of smoking whilst partaking in this killer habit, particularly when such expressions are made in front of kids, need to take some responsibility for (inactively) encouraging others to take up the habit.

For you smokers who are addicted to nicotine and are trying to quit, you have my support but not my sympathy.

You have no one to blame but yourselves for your predicament.

I have made comment before in the Smoking Forum that the best and quickest way to stop smoking is to go cold turkey and have the intestinal fortitude to fight through to the end.

So Mr Warrior, you won't quit the habit by blaming the likes of me. Your fight is with yourself, the nicotine addiction and the advertising campaign from the tobacco companies, not with me.

.....and finally, my comment in my previous post, which has infuriated you, was not meant to be funny.

No MM... I would not accuse you of being funny... I don't disagree with the facts MM...

Just how some people turn these issues into their own personal crusades... For a never tried nicotine non-smoker you certainly know a lot about quitting this serious addiction... I am curious, how did you become the expert in beating this particular addiction?

I would rather hear from genuine experts (former smokers giving the talk) rather than wannabe experts...

Chok dee,

[dseawarrior]

Based on your inane remark, I bet you never struggled with the addictions of nicotine...

That is quite right, I am not addicted to nicotine or any other health harming substance for that matter. In fact I had the good common sense when I was a child not to experiment with such things.

My comment, which seems to have angered you, came as a direct flow on from the heading posted in Peters' opening post: "SMOKING IS THE BIGGEST PREVENTABLE KILLER."

The all important word being "Preventable."

Kids who are contemplating taking up the smoking habit need to have their heads kicked to knock some sense into them. Their smoking parents need to take some sort of influencing role in deterring their children from taking up a killer habit....and not necessarily 'smoking parents' but ALL parents.

Smokers who express enjoyment of smoking whilst partaking in this killer habit, particularly when such expressions are made in front of kids, need to take some responsibility for (inactively) encouraging others to take up the habit.

For you smokers who are addicted to nicotine and are trying to quit, you have my support but not my sympathy.

You have no one to blame but yourselves for your predicament.

I have made comment before in the Smoking Forum that the best and quickest way to stop smoking is to go cold turkey and have the intestinal fortitude to fight through to the end.

So Mr Warrior, you won't quit the habit by blaming the likes of me. Your fight is with yourself, the nicotine addiction and the advertising campaign from the tobacco companies, not with me.

.....and finally, my comment in my previous post, which has infuriated you, was not meant to be funny.

Read Allen Carrs book. The Only Way To Stop Smoking Permantely.

I was a 30 cigarette smoker a day. I read this book from cover to cover and found it interesting. After finishing this book I followed the instructions. I am now an ex smoker and have been for the past 3 weeks. No withdrawl symtoms or any others. No cravings. No tempations. This book can be downloaded from the net

Can you give the link as to where this valuable book can be downloaded???

That would be of great help to millions... Ought to be a free download, chai mai?

[Jet Gorgon]

I think obese people should be worried, because when the judgemental whores of the world eradicate all the smokers, they, the judgemental whores of the world, will need a new target.

[suegha]

Yeah, let's bash the fatties!!!

[Mighty Mouse]

For a never tried nicotine non-smoker you certainly know a lot about quitting this serious addiction... I am curious, how did you become the expert in beating this particular addiction?

I never claimed to be an expert but I have witnessed many of my smoking friends attempt to beat the habit. Patches, lollies, changing brands etc. etc. Mostly failures with the exception of a couple of mates who were determined to quit cigarettes.

They went cold turkey. They experienced the pain for weeks, months, but they were strong enough to overcome it and are now tobacco free.

....and since when does one need to be an "expert" to solve certain problems?

Do you only trust the word of doctors who have personally experienced the same illnesses or addictions as you before you seek their assistance?

Think about it !!

[Jet Gorgon]

I don't trust anybody nor do I listen to flying mice.

Edited May 28, 2007 by Jet Gorgon

[dseawarrior]

I don't trust anybody nor do I listen to flying mice.

Bravo! I could not have said it better! Amen!

[swain]

Well, I stopped smoking but started eating and drinking more..

You may have heard the statistic that obesity has risen as much in the last ten years as in the previous four decades combined. Obesity is rising so rapidly that it is about to replace smoking as the number-one killer in the United States. Ten years ago, smoking killed 430,000 people a year and obesity killed 325,000 a year. Smoking-related death rates are going down, but obesity-related rates are still climbing.

Smoking is 'biggest preventable killer'

Worse than obesity, alcohol, high cholesterol, road crashes, illicit drugs or unsafe sex - smoking is still the biggest cause of preventable death and disability in Australia.

A new report released by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) found that of 14 preventable health risks examined, tobacco was the worst cause of disease burden and the single biggest killer.

Killing more than 15,000 people in Australia in 2003, it was responsible for 12 per cent of all deaths in Australia that year.

Next in line as the worst health risks were high blood pressure, high body mass, physical inactivity and high blood cholesterol.

Alcohol, low fruit and vegetable consumption, illicit drugs, occupational hazards, domestic violence, child sexual abuse, air pollution, unsafe sex and osteoporosis were also risk factors, with all preventable risks together accounting for 32 per cent of the total burden of disease and injury in 2003.

Several also contributed to cardiovascular-related deaths such as strokes and heart attacks, which in 2003 killed almost 49,000 people, making up 37 per cent of all deaths in Australia.

AIHW spokesman John Goss said 70 per cent of all cardiovascular disease was caused by at least one of the preventable risk factors examined.

"We could get rid of 70 per cent of all cardiovascular disease if we didn't have these risk factors," Mr Goss said.

"And 30 per cent of cancers if people were not smoking and ate fruit and vegies and weren't overweight or obese."

Responding to the report, The Burden of Disease and Injury in Australia 2003, anti-smoking groups called for more funding for quit campaigns.

"We should not lose sight of the fact that tobacco is killing many more Australians than the combined total of all other leading causes - including illicit drugs, alcohol, car accidents, breast cancer and homicide," Action on Smoking and Health chief executive Anne Jones said.

"The latest federal budget included much needed new money for chronic diseases - of which smoking is a major risk factor. But there were no new tobacco control initiatives, despite evidence that every dollar spent yields a two dollar return on the investment."

Ms Jones said Australia spent less per capita on tobacco control than New Zealand, Canada, the United Kingdom and Ireland.

She called for a review of the government's current funding commitment of $9 million a year.