Government says UK will be smoke free by 2030

The government of United Kingdom says that UK will be smoke free by 2030. It’s time for the government to take necessary steps to end smoking in UK. As a lot of people in UK die because of smoking, this step has been taken. The government will formulate plans to end smoking and ensure a good health rate in UK. The life expectancy is also decreasing as more and more people die, due to cancer which is caused by smoking. According to a study, 15% of the people die because of cancer and it is the largest reason for deaths in UK. According to the same study, 15% of the adults are currently smoking in UK. 

Smoking is banned in enclosed areas like offices or other workplaces and is illegal for people aged under 18 to smoke. The government can take necessary steps against the teenagers who are under 18 and the shopkeeper who sold them tobacco or cigarettes. 

Before the Ban

Before smoking was banned, people used to smoke indoor. As a result, the whole office comprised of the smoke. Various businesses asked the government to ban smoking as they took feedback from the public. After the companies asked for the ban, the Health Act 2006, was introduced. Due to this, smoking was banned in enclosed areas. Even advertising of tobacco and cigarette on TV channels had been banned in the UK. Later smoking was also banned in every public place. It is seen that men smoke more than women in UK. 

Current State of Smoking in the UK

Steps have been taken by the people and the government in collaboration to stop or put an end to smoking. In various places of the UK, smoking rate has decreased whereas, in some areas it has a minor increment. The government is planning to reduce this rate and become a country that has lowest smoking rates. People are willing to quit smoking and some are shifting their habits of smoking to e-cigarettes that are said to be less risky than the other tobacco cigarettes. Hospitals in UK are giving special attention to the people who are admitted to quitting smoking. 

The UK government aims to reduce the smoke rates to 12% by 2022. Smoking is the cause of early deaths of UK citizens. To save their people from smoking and its harmful effects, this step has been taken. This will help the citizens to quit smoking. Also, the government plans to take steps to decrease other issues in their countries like diabetes, obesity, alcohol consumption, etc. 

Harmful Effects of Smoking

As we all know how harmful smoking is but still many people smoke. If you are willing to quit smoking or are not sure whether you should quit, then you must definitely read these effects. These are some harmful effects caused by smoking:

1. Cancer

Cancer is a disease in which cells in the body grow abnormally. It is a malignant tumor, which means it can spread and grow in other areas of the body. In UK, most people die because of cancer and smoking is the reason behind this cancer. Due to smoking, Cancer can grow and spread in different parts of your body. You can get cancer of the following organs:

• Stomach
• Pancreases 
• Liver
• Lungs
• Bladder 
• Blood
• Kidney 
• Colon 

2. Cardiovascular Diseases

Cardiovascular diseases are those that are related to your heart. When a person smokes the smoke enters our blood vessels and can easily spread in other parts of the body. Coronary heart diseases, Heart Attacks, Strokes, etc. are caused by smoking. Even if you are not a regular smoker, you are still at a higher risk of developing such diseases. The blood vessels get narrower and block the amount of oxygen that is necessary for heart and brain. It increases blood pressure and can also cause your blood vessel to burst. 

3. Respiratory Diseases

Your lungs are directly at a risk of cancer. As you inhale in the smoke, it goes into your lungs and blocks the airways in them. If you are an asthma patient, then it can have an adverse effect on you and cause much worse attacks. It can also increase the number of attacks in such patients. Smoking causes COPD lung diseases. COPD – Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, is a broader term for lung diseases. Refractory asthma, Emphysema, etc. are diseases under COPD. Smokers are at higher risk to die because of COPD than others who don’t smoke. 

4. Difficulty in pregnancy

For the women who are into smoking can face difficulty in getting pregnant. Not only the women but the infant born is also at a higher risk of dying or being born with a disease. Smoking can cause early delivery, death of the infant before birth, SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome), Ectopic pregnancy, low weight of the baby, it can also cause Orofacial clefts (Mouth or lips of the child do not form properly), etc. Hence, one must quit smoking for the sake of the unborn and innocent infant if not for themselves.

5. Infertility

Infertility means the inability of a person to reproduce. Smoking can cause infertility in men, the quality of the sperm can reduce or the production of the sperm. Such sperm cannot provide a healthy baby and can cause miscarriage and birth defects. Birth defects are a situation where the baby is born and misses an organ or the organ is not properly formed, it is also known as structural birth defects. Heart, clefts, dislocated hip are types of structural defects that are common in babies. 

6. Cataracts

Smoking can reduce your eye vision. It can cause cataracts. Cataracts are a disease in which an eye lens gets covered by a clouding which makes it difficult for the people to see things clearly. It is a slow-growing disease and can affect both eyes. It develops near retina which makes it difficult for a person to see. The retina is needed for central vision. Some of the symptoms of cataracts can be faded or blurred vision, bright light issues, trouble in seeing the colors, color looks dull, cannot see properly in light, etc. 

7. Immune System

Smoking can decline the performance of your immune system. A healthy immune system is necessary for preventing diseases. Hence, you must not smoke to protect your defense system. If you ignore the health risks, then your defense system might fail while defending you. A very weak immune system cannot save a person even from a minor health issue and has a higher chance of attracting various infections and diseases.

Considering the negative effects of smoking, one should definitely quit smoking. Also, the smoke produced while smoking can have an adverse effect on the people who are non-smokers. Therefore, by quitting smoking you will not only save your life but also save others and the environment. This is an argumentative issue and people need to be aware of it. As many children are smoking, the institutions must take the necessary step to generate awareness in kids. Institutions can assign assignment related to negative effects of smoking. With the use of assignment help, educational institutions can make sure kids are aware of harmful risks of smoking.   

Author Bio – I am Lucy Zara, a Content Writer. I love to do social work and apart from writing business and technical articles I also write articles to create awareness about the prevalent social issues. I have an experience of 7 years as Content Writing.