Posted October 15, 2013
Canada Newswire
Mount Sinai Hospital Montreal is alarmed by the fact that many Quebec smokers, especially younger smokers, remain oblivious to numerous efforts to inform them of the damaging health effects of smoking. According to the survey by Léger on smoking in Quebec, one-quarter of smokers light up in the presence of minors, and one in five smoke in the car with children present. Cigarette smoke contains more than 4,000 chemicals, of which at least 250 are known to be toxic and more than 50 are known carcinogens. Furthermore, children who are regularly exposed to second-hand smoke are at greater risk of developing respiratory diseases such as asthma.
The Web survey, conducted for Mount Sinai Hospital Montreal, which specializes in treating respiratory ailments, found that 65% of Quebec smokers took up the habit at age 17 or younger, and that 27% of smokers aged 16 to 17 believe smoking is only slightly or not at all a health risk.
“In spite of the efforts to warn people against the health dangers of smoking, diagnoses of lung diseases has grown steadily in recent years,” explains Dr. Marc Baltzan, pneumologist at Mount Sinai Hospital-Montreal. “It’s appalling when you think that even today, one in five smokers, mostly aged between 16 and 24, believe smoking will not increase the risk of developing a serious illness. We have to step up our efforts and introduce new ways of making youth aware of the dangers of smoking,” he adds.
Smoking-related respiratory diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), the most common of which are chronic bronchitis and emphysema, are the third cause of death in Quebec and kill one Canadian every hour. Worldwide, smoking is responsible for 22% of cancer deaths and 71% of lung cancer deaths, according to the WHO. The Commission d’étude sur les services de santé et les services sociaux du Québec reports that the direct and indirect health costs of smoking have reached $5 billion annually. Quitting smoking is the first step in preventing and treating COPD.
The Web survey, which was conducted between July 4 and 14, 2013, polled 1,004 Quebec smokers aged 16 and over. Of these, 66% were regular smokers, who smoked an average of 16.6 cigarettes every day.
The survey’s findings:
A sign of dependence: 49% of smokers have their first cigarette of the day within 30 minutes of waking up, with more than a third do so within five minutes of waking up 45% of smokers say they are concerned about their weight 21% of smokers hide their habit from family and friends, and 11% hide it from their employer On average, smokers go outside three times a day to smoke during a workday, and close to 20% go out four or more times 61% of smokers describe their smoking as a bad habit or a drug 22% say they plan their schedule around smoke breaks 34% of those aged 16 to 17 who smoke do so to feel like they belong, or because their friends or coworkers smoke 80% of Quebec smokers have tried to quit an average of 4.5 times, and only one-half told their family about it the last time For 61% of smokers, feeling physical symptoms or being diagnosed with a serious illness would be their primary motivation to quit
For more information, please visit www.sinaimontreal.ca.
SOURCE Mount Sinai Hospital