Tobacco

• Tobacco is a drug that comes from the dried leaves of a tobacco plant. It is the leaves that are put in cigarettes, pipes and cigars.
• Tobacco leaves contain nicotine, which is one of the most poisonous substances there is. Cigarettes contain up to 4000 added chemicals.
• When you smoke, you expose yourself and other people around you to these dangerous chemicals.

Street names

Cigs, darts, durries, fags and rollies

Effects of smoking

The effects of smoking include:

• raises a persons blood pressure and heart rate
• decreases blood flow to extremities like your fingers and toes
• brain and nervous system activity is stimulated for a short time and then reduced
• nausea, dizziness, watery eyes and acid in the stomach
• taste and smell are weakened
• reduces your appetite
• shortness of breath, persistent cough, reduced fitness
• smokers have colds and flu more often
• smoking can make men impotent, and women who smoke are less fertile than non-smokers
• people who smoke in general; look older than non-smokers of the same age.

Smoking can lead to:

• pneumonia and chronic bronchitis
• emphysema
• heart attacks and coronary disease
• cancer of the bodies organs
• peripheral vascular disease – due to decreased blood flow to the legs.

Reducing harm from smoking

The best way to reduce harm from smoking is to stop smoking, or at least cut down the number of cigarettes smoked each day or switch to a lower nicotine dose cigarette. Speak to an Aboriginal health worker or drug and alcohol worker about other options such as nicotine patches and gum.

 To reduce the harm from passive smoking, smokers should only smoke in open or well-ventilated areas.

 There are immediate benefits from stopping smoking at any stage.

• Nicotine and carbon monoxide will be out of the system and the lungs will be working more efficiently.
• Taste buds and sense of smell improve.
• Breath, hair, fingers, teeth and clothes will look and smell cleaner.
• Within three months, blood flow to the hands and feet improve.
• After twelve months the risks of getting cancer and heart disease are reduced.

Smoking, pregnancy and breastfeeding

• It is especially important for pregnant and breast feeding women to stop smoking or at least cut down.
• Smoking during and after pregnancy can have many effects on the child, including increased risks of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and asthma related illnesses.
• Smoking during pregnancy can affect the unborn child, they are more likely to be underweight, premature or stillborn.
• The risk of harmful effects to the foetus is greater in older mothers.

Passive smoking

Passive smoking is where people around the smoker breathe in their cigarette smoke, can cause serious illness even among non-smokers.

Smoking and the law

It is illegal for suppliers to sell smokes to people who are under the age of 18 years. There are also laws about where you can't smoke, for example, government buildings, on public transport and restaurants.

Facts

Nicotine:

• Nicotine is the drug in tobacco smoke that causes addiction
• The strength of addiction is said to be as powerful or more powerful than heroin
• Nicotine is a poison.

Tar:

• When a cigarette is lit, tar is released
• Tar is the main cause of lung cancer and throat cancer in smokers.

Carbon monoxide:

• Carbon monoxide is colourless, odourless, and very toxic.
• It increases the risk of heart disease
• It causes hardening of the arteries and other circulatory problems.

Important facts:

• Over 50% of koorie people smoke
• Smoking kills more koorie people than that of the general population
• 50 Australians die every day from smoking compared to 10 who die from alcohol-related conditions or four who die from road accidents.

What you'll save by quitting

Health benefits of quitting

Where to get help

Contact your local Aboriginal Health Service for more information or the QUIT Line on 137 848.

 This fact sheet was reproduced with permission from the Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (VACCHO).

Download the Smoke fact sheet
(813 kB, PDF)