Smoking 

Tobacco addiction (smoking) is mainly the result of dependence on nicotine, a substance contained in tobacco that can alter a person's mental and physical state by affecting one’s emotions, perceptions, behaviour and intellectual and motor skills. 

In recent years, new products have been launched on the market, presented as less harmful alternatives to tobacco smoking, electronic cigarettes (commonly known as vapes), heated tobacco products and nicotine pouches for oral use. These attract new consumers and make them addicted to nicotine. 

In recent years, new products have been launched on the market, presented as less harmful alternatives to tobacco smoking, electronic cigarettes (commonly known as vapes), heated tobacco products and nicotine pouches for oral use. These attract new consumers and make them addicted to nicotine. 

The consumption of tobacco (or products containing nicotine) produces a form of addiction that often also has behavioural aspects. Although a person’s first-time experience with cigarettes often causes unpleasant sensations, like nausea, coughing and dizziness, this does not prevent some people from allowing it to develop into a daily habit, which is greatly influenced by the social, family and cultural environment. 

 

Quitting smoking, even for a few days, makes people become irritable and to suffer from a broad range of symptoms, such as anxiety, tremors, sweating, dizziness, headaches, abdominal pain, nausea and sleep problems. This, of course, makes it difficult to quit permanently, despite awareness of the serious health risks. 

Harmful effects of smoking 

A research carried out in 2024 found that, on average, each cigarette someone smokes can take about 20 minutes off their life. Smoking twenty cigarettes a day can reduce the average life expectancy of a person who starts smoking at the age of 25 by about 4.5 years.

Cancer
A correlation has been established between smoking and lung cancer, as well as cancers of the oral cavity and throat, oesophagus, pancreas, colon, bladder, prostate, kidney, breast, ovaries and certain types of leukaemia
Other diseases
Smoking is a risk factor for respiratory diseases, such as respiratory infections and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), cardiovascular diseases and the development and progression of early diabetic kidney damage (albuminuria), and can worsen retinopathy in young people with diabetes 
Sexuality
Chronic exposure to smoke can also cause sexual dysfunction in males and damage to the female reproductive system, affecting erection, arousal, pain during intercourse, and difficulty reaching orgasm
Pregnancy

A woman who smokes during pregnancy has a higher risk of miscarriage and of having a stillborn or underweight baby. Infants can also develop chronic diseases

Second-hand smoke
People – especially children – exposed to second-hand smoke, i.e. the smoke produced by smokers and inhaled by non-smokers, are also at risk of damage to their health, even to the same extent as smokers
Aesthetic damages
Smoking can also cause aesthetic damages, such as white gums, yellowing of the teeth, ageing of the skin and increased facial hair 

How to quit smoking 

It’s never too late to quit smoking. The decision to quit not only protects our loved ones from second-hand smoking but also has a major impact on smokers, from the first few hours:

 

  • within 12 hours, the level of carbon monoxide in the blood decreases and returns to normal levels;
  • within 2-12 weeks, blood circulation and lung functionality improve;
  • within a year, the risk of heart attack is halved compared to that of a smoker; 
  • within 5-15 years, the risk of stroke becomes the same as that of a non-smoker; 
  • within 10 years, the risk of lung cancer is reduced by half and the risk of other cancers is also reduced; 
  • within 15 years, the risk of heart attack becomes the same as that of a non-smoker.

If you need support to quit, contact your doctor or the toll-free number for smoking cessation of the Italian National Institute of Health (800 554088). There are also local anti-smoking centers that can assist you in this process.

In general, the aim of prevention measures is to combat smoking in the community and among young people by reducing risk factors and encouraging the acquisition of personal life skills that can influence protective factors.

 

One of the best places to implement effective prevention programmes is in schools, through participatory projects that can provide accurate information about tobacco use, while facilitating the development of life skills among young people, such as critical thinking, decision-making and emotional management. The effectiveness of these projects can be enhanced if the family and the social environment are also involved. For the purposes of early identification and primary prevention, dedicated projects have been included in the School and Health Catalogue, designed to promote the empowerment of individuals and the community, so that everyone is able to make informed decisions about their health.