Are we facing a smoking epidemic? “They smoke at home and at work. “There is a total disinhibition.”

– There will be a smoking epidemic again – just look at the increase in the use of e-cigarettes and tobacco heaters – emphasizes Magdalena Cedzyńska, psychologist, psychotherapist, head of the Smoking Help Clinic at the National Institute of Oncology in Warsaw.

“Modern smokers” smoke more

In an interview with the Zdrowie website, PAP criticizes the actions of e-cigarette producers and the tobacco industry. – What irritates me the most is how the tobacco industry manipulates data and tells young people lies. Tobacco companies use very cunning techniques, trying to manipulate not only users, but also doctors and health care representatives. I cannot understand how medical professionals can do research with the tobacco industry. We have an obvious conflict of interest – our goal is to improve health, and the goal of tobacco producers is to sell their products and maintain addiction. No matter the cost. These are not medicinal products! – says Magdalena Cedzyńska.

The specialist draws attention to the trap that users of e-cigarettes and tobacco heating fall into. – They also have a strong belief that it is healthier than traditional smoking. They allow themselves much more than a traditional smoker. He goes out to smoke a cigarette, he has a time limit. And these “modern” people smoke at home and at work. There is total disinhibition and it is difficult for them to impose any restrictions on themselves. People often smoke more modern cigarettes than they smoke traditional cigarettes. An e-cigarette practically does not run out until the liquid runs out, it is much more than smoking a cigarette – says Magdalena Cedzyńska.

He also reminds that when e-cigarettes appeared, a new disease also appeared – EVALI, which received its number in the WHO international classification of diseases. As he explains, it is acute lung damage related to inhalation of chemical compounds produced by using e-cigarettes.

Children fall into the trap of e-cigarettes

The psychotherapist pays special attention to the trap of smoking e-cigarettes that young people fall into. – There are studies showing that children who are fooled into thinking that smoking is healthy and a good alternative to traditional cigarettes, then become smokers of traditional cigarettes. Nicotine is very addictive in any form, regardless of whether it is in the form of an e-cigarette, heated tobacco or a traditional cigarette. Although, of course, this traditional way of smoking has the greatest addictive potential, because nicotine quickly reaches the brain and bloodstream, and cigarette manufacturers added various substances to further increase this potential and make addictive even faster, such as ammonia or sugars. . – enumerates and adds that if children use e-cigarettes or heated tobacco, because it is a great gadget, the price is almost always addiction.

– Over time, they start smoking traditional cigarettes. There are many teenagers who smoke traditional cigarettes and use these gadgets at the same time. If someone says that gadget smoking is a way to reduce smoking, it is not true. In a dozen or so years we will see the effect of e-cigarettes when the children who smoke today grow up and start smoking regular cigarettes – he sums up.