Is smoking suicide? Most would say no, but how can you tell the difference between a person who hangs themselves and a person who kills themselves gradually by smoking?
Kushtrim Gashi
Since 1987, every May 31st has been marked as World No Tobacco Day. This day was declared by the member countries of the World Health Organization and is dedicated to the fight against tobacco. Each country on World No Tobacco Day tries to raise awareness among citizens about the harms and dangers of tobacco and to encourage the reduction of tobacco production and consumption.
Another important step by the World Health Organization was the adoption of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which was adopted on May 21, 2003. In our country, the law on tobacco control was approved by the Kosovo Assembly in April 2013 and entered into force in May of the same year. But this law is not being implemented as it should be because smoking is allowed in many public places. Since tobacco is the only legal product that is consumed and which kills, it has become one of the biggest public health challenges that Albanian territories face today.
According to WHO data, there are about 1 billion tobacco consumers worldwide. While in the mother country, in Albania, regular tobacco consumers are close to 1 million people, in Kosovo it is not any better because over 500 thousand people consume tobacco. More worrying is the fact that both in Kosovo and in Albania we have a tendency to increase cigarette smoking by primary and secondary school students. According to customs data, the product that causes death in Albania is purchased to the extent of over 550 million euros, while in Kosovo over 200 million euros.
Smoking is currently the second leading cause of death in the world, after high blood pressure. Every year, about 8 million deaths are caused worldwide, more than the annual deaths as a result of COVID-19. Meanwhile, 7 million of these deaths are caused by direct tobacco use, while 1.2 million are people who do not use tobacco, but because they are passive users of it.
According to the WHO, every year around 65.000 children worldwide die from respiratory problems caused by smoking in the family and those exposed to passive smoking. The figure of 8 million deaths per year is expected to double over the next 20 years.
A report presented by the Institute of Public Health in Albania states that "more than 3.300 people die every year from the consequences of smoking", while in Kosovo, according to the Statistical Agency, during the period 2006-2011, "about 17 thousand people died from diseases caused by smoking". It is believed that smoking kills more people than if we take them together: traffic accidents, AIDS, suicides, murders, drug addiction and alcohol. Research shows that smoking is higher in poor countries than in developed ones and in this way poverty further worsens their economic situation. About 80% of premature deaths from smoking occur in low- or middle-income countries.
Tobacco use costs national economies enormously, through increased healthcare costs and reduced productivity. If we take for example that the average expenditure of a person who smokes per day is 1.80 euros, then within a month he spends 54 euros, and within a year over 648 euros. Such a value is a lot for the poor pocket of Albanian citizens. Considering the data and the alarming situation of smoking in Kosovo and Albania, it would be appropriate for the relevant Ministries of both countries to cooperate, by sensitizing citizens in different ways and forms about the great danger that smoking causes.
I can rightly ask, is smoking suicide? Most would say no, which I agree with, but how can you tell the difference between a person who hangs himself and a person who kills himself gradually by smoking? However, there is a difference between a person who intends to take his own life and a person who does not. In this case, the smoker, or rather the consumer of cigarettes, is knowingly damaging not only his property but also his health, which results in death. However, we do not say that the smoker is suicidal for one reason only, because he does not intend to kill himself.
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