In these days of "confinement", David has a hard time containing the need to smoke. He cannot escape in the afternoons with the neighborhood buddies to share the smoke. Within the four walls of the home, the adventure is difficult and he does not want her mother to know about those "little games.”

He tries to break the anxiety in WhatsApp groups, and seduce the girls by Messenger because "now they don't see your face and it's easier.” Even so, it is not easy for him to get rid of the cigarette.

The other night he snuck into the bathroom and was almost discovered. “It was like a miracle that at that moment someone knocks the door and my mother was distracted. What a scare! I quickly chewed paper and even threw perfume on the curtain to kill the smell,” says the 17-year-old boy.

He wants everything to end to leave home and return to the adventures. Meanwhile, he opts for the little escapades and tempts "luck". He doesn't understand that the family's scolding is the least of it; and that he is definitely condemning his life.

David - like many other young people - feels “he is a man” and the opportunities with girls are painted in colors. It is not his or his generation's, it is an evil inherited through time; in fact, most smokers start in the early youth. Industries engaged in the production and marketing of the product also use effective tactics to "hook” them.

It is not easy to end the problem, but much can be done about it. On World No Tobacco Day 2020, the World Health Organization has launched "a campaign to combat systematic, aggressive and sustained marketing by these industries." Similarly, it calls on young people to join the fight to become a tobacco-free generation.

REASONS NOT TO SMOKE

Every year, more than eight million people become fatal victims of tobacco. In addition to representing a risk for the appearance of various types of tumors, it causes respiratory and cardiovascular conditions, premature aging and many other diseases.

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World No Tobacco Day 2020

“Smoking is expensive and it is paid on physical appearance and health. Some consequences are: bad breath, yellow teeth, wrinkles, unhealthy lungs and a poor immune system," says the Pan American Health Organization.

There is no part of our body that is free from the damage caused by smoking. Its consumption constitutes the main cause of disease and preventable mortality on the planet.

Those who have involuntary contact with that smoke, the so-called passive smokers, also receive the harmful effects. Studies report that it remains on clothing, furniture, tables, and rugs for a long period, mainly damaging the child population.

Smoking is an addiction and therefore a pathology that can be treated. Tobacco smoke contains more than four thousand components, including nicotine, which is the cause of strong physiological dependence. It is also associated with other addictive consequences related to individual behavior and social factors.

Specialists report that every 10 young people who try cigarettes, at least seven are "hooked" by the high addictive power of nicotine. After a time, the person needs to increase consumption to achieve the desired effects, and this is what is called tolerance to this drug.

The anonymous and free confidential anti-drug line 103 provides an orientation service to the entire country. In this province, tobacco cessation consultations are available in all Health areas, which are offered by a multidisciplinary group, made up of a psychologist, a specialist in Comprehensive General Medicine, one in Natural and Traditional Medicine, and a health educator, among others.

The staff of the Provincial Department of Education and Health Promotion carries out activities in communities, schools and other spaces to spread the message of prevention.

Perhaps never before was it a better idea to stop using tobacco. According to the WHO, it is probable that "smokers are more vulnerable, since the act of smoking involves putting their fingers close to their lips, which increases the possibility of transmission of the virus from the hand to the mouth."

Cigarettes are known to pose a higher risk of respiratory infections and increased severity. It impairs “lung function, making it difficult for the body to fight the coronavirus and other respiratory conditions. The research data available to date seems to indicate that smokers are at increased risk of developing severe symptoms and dying from COVID-19,” the international organization attests.

It depends on the individual will and, of course, on wanting to break free from that bondage. I wish David and many other young people understand it is today and not tomorrow, which for the first start all and you never know when it will be the last. Hopefully they realize, in time, that a cigarette can destroy their dreams and that they have the power to change the course of history.