SMOKING: A CHALLENGE TO BE DONE

Abstract

Objective: elucidate the toxicological effects of tobacco derivatives on the human body, the difficulties and justifications in quitting smoking, the impact on society, including the financial parts of health and quality of life. Methodology: The document was built after a theoretical review of tobacco and its toxic effects on humans. The bibliographic survey was carried out using the PubMed, Lilacs, Scielo and Google Scholar Databases Result: tobacco is a mixture of approximately 4,700 toxic substances that are distributed in two phases of compounds of high degree of toxicity; we address nicotine and its high capacity to generate dependence; we seek to inform the difficulty that an individual has in abolishing the habit, by which nicotine produces effects that reinforce its use. The severity of nicotine dependence can be illustrated with the fact that only 33% of people who quit smoking alone remain abstinent for more than 2 days, and less than 5% remain abstinent for more than 1 year. Conclusion: advances in tobacco control depend on a vision of the future based on goals, strategies and rigidity in anti-smoking policies