Smoking is a habit that was born more than 500 years ago and although society has evolved, it is still the main cause of preventable death in the world and more than 5 million people die from it every year. As Dr. Javier Galiana, a specialist in smoking and member of Top Doctors, explains: “Smoking kills more people than alcohol consumption, other drugs, homicides, suicides, traffic accidents and AIDS. The WHO predicts that by 2030 the annual death toll from smoking could reach 10 million people, or ¼ of the population of our country.”
On the occasion of World No Tobacco Day, Friday, May 31, Dr. Galiana, a specialist in smoking, and Dr. Adalberto Pacheco, a specialist in pneumology, both members of Top Doctors, explain how smoking affects society and chronic cough.
Tobacco addiction
Tobacco contains more than 600 components such as green tobacco, dry tobacco, dry matter and inorganic components. Nicotine has clear negative effects on the cardiovascular system, digestive system, metabolism and nervous system.
Why do we smoke? Dr. Galiana explains this addiction: “When a person smokes, the inhaled smoke reaches the lungs and from there it goes to the brain through the blood. In the brain, nicotine binds to nicotinic receptors releasing dopamine, which produces a sensation of pleasure”. The addictive power of tobacco lies in the fact that nicotine is eliminated in a few minutes. According to the doctor, “other drugs do not have such rapid elimination effects, which obviously spays the consumer’s demand”.
The latest studies say that more than 60% of the smoking population will continue to sacrifice their life expectancy by smoking. In Spain, the age at which smoking begins is 13 years old.
Chronic cough and smoking
According to the latest studies, smoking has been shown to be associated with the prevalence of cough and other respiratory symptoms in both active and passive smoking. Dr. Adalberto Pacheco explains: “there is good evidence to support a dose-response relationship between cough and smoking; however the frequency of cough is reduced to near normal in ex-smokers suggesting that the effect of smoking on cough is reversible, although we must take into account that there is an increase in the sensitivity of the cough reflex immediately after quitting smoking”. In the management of chronic cough, smoking cessation is essential because continued smoking can worsen symptoms due to inflammation of the respiratory tissues.
70% of the treatment is psychological
Approximately one third of smokers make a serious attempt to quit each year, but few succeed. Dr. Galiana warns us that “to quit smoking it is essential that the patient wants to quit and is aware that he or she needs help to do so”.
Dr. Galiana explains the treatment he recommends: “70% of the treatment to quit smoking is strictly psychological. It must be accompanied by pharmacological treatment to block the ‘abstinence area’ so that the mechanical receptors are annulled”. Quitting smoking takes six months with a combined treatment according to the experience of Dr. Galiana who has successfully treated more than a thousand cases.