Healthcare providers from Agarwal’s Eye Hospital, Apollo Hospitals and Narayana Multispecialty are now apprehensive about the growing impact of nicotine on the eyes, lung cells and digestive organs. The plant-based chemical is viewed to be dangerous and potentially lethal for both adults and younger age-groups.

Nicotine affects the eyes and damages the retina. It is reported that nicotine is a stimulant and a relaxant but it is a highly poisonous ingredient, stated medical experts adding that a cigarette contains nicotine, tar, and carbon monoxide among others.

May 31st annually is observed as the World Tobacco Day. Although the theme this year is to highlight its effects on cardiovascular diseases, medical experts view the need to focus on the devastating effect on eyes, respiratory and digestive organs. Therefore, there is, for a massive awareness to keep tobacco related diseases and disorders at bay which lead to huge medical expenditure, they added.

Some of the common conditions caused by chewable tobacco are ambylopia and optic neuropathy leading to irreversible blindness, stated Dr. Amod Nayak, Medical Director, Dr. Agarwal’s Eye Hospital, Whitefield, Bengaluru.
 
While it is a well-known fact that smoking can affect the health of our eyes, what many of us are not aware is that even smokeless tobacco can adversely impact. One of the most commonly used form of smokeless tobacco is chewable tobacco. Unlike smoking wherein the tobacco and the chemicals in it are inhaled and reacts faster, the nicotine is absorbed slowly in case of chewable tobacco. Many of the users leave the chew in their mouth there by allowing a steady stream of nicotine supply throughout the day. The process makes the body to be accustomed to getting more and constant flow of nicotine. In fact, the constant flow and higher dose of nicotine can induce retina damage. This part of the eye converts the light into neural signals, and send signals to the brain for visual recognition.

On a similar note was Dr Manish Samson, Consultant Orthopedics and Joint Replacement, Apollo Hospitals, who sees that smoking is by far is the biggest preventable cause of cancer. Tobacco smoke is made up of over 7,000 chemicals, including 70 known to be carcinogenic.

Studies indicate the number of years that one spends in smoking, affects cancer risk even more than the number of cigarettes smoked a day. For example, smoking one pack a day for 40 years is more dangerous than smoking two packs a day for 20 years. Each cigarette can damage the DNA. Research has shown that for every 15 cigarettes smoked there is a DNA change which results in a cancerous cell, he added.
 
“Apart from lungs another organ that bears the brunt of continuous smoking is the digestive system. It causes irritation, ulcers in the food pipe and the small intestine. While some of these condition are curable, continuous smoking can negatively impact the functioning of the pancreas and leading to pancreatic cancer,” said Dr. P. Rupesh Kalyan, Consultant - Gastroenterology, Narayana Multispecialty Hospital, Whitefield, Bengaluru.