The habit of smoking cigarettes may cause numerous health issues, such as lung diseases, cancer, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), stroke, diabetes, tuberculosis, eye diseases, rheumatoid arthritis, etc. Therefore, you should try to quit smoking although it is hard. However, some foods and drinks can help you quit smoking, while some other kinds of food and drinks can make you feel the urge of smoking. Let’s check out which foods and drinks are best and worst to quit cigarettes. Best Foods to Help You to Quit Smoking Your Favorite Food Smoking also dulls every smoker’s capacity to taste and smell says Michael Fiore, MD, MPH, the director of the Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention.  Once you quit smoking, you will feel the flavor and texture of the food much better. So, the best thing you can do is to try the food that you used to love before you started smoking. Your favorite food will help you to revive your former taste. No matter what they were, just try to enjoy the food while savoring your newfound senses. It may give you hope during those times when quitting is a struggle for you. Read: Effects of Air Pollution on Unborn Children, Neonates, Infants Frozen Grapes You may start eating sweets after you quit. If you can indulge yourself in those cravings, it is a good thing because it can prevent you from reaching for a cigarette. But make sure you don’t dip into a pint of cookies and cream regularly. Grabbing processed desserts would be unhealthy for you.  Instead, you can take frozen grapes, recommends the AHA. The sweetness of grapes will help you curb sugar cravings, and because they are frozen, they will take longer to eat than fresh fruit. Cinnamon Sticks Some people say that cinnamon sticks can help keep cigarettes at bay. Cinnamon sticks deliver a nice taste. It is easy to carry on your pocket and you can chew it to revive your taste. Carrot and celery sticks may have a similar shape but they don’t have the same jolt of flavor as cinnamon. Read Effects of Passive Smoking on Children’s Health High-Fiber Foods Remember you need to maintain a healthy weight in your post-cigarette life. But quitting smoking may lead to unwanted weight gain. If you want to lose a few extra pounds, you can add high-fiber foods like beans, broccoli, berries, avocado, apple, dried fruits, nuts, etc to your diet. By eating more fiber you can lose weight in a natural and healthy way.  Different types of fruits and vegetables The journal Nicotine & Tobacco Research published a study in 2013 that smokers prefer to eat less produce daily than those who don't smoke. So when you are quitting, it’s a good idea to take various types of fruits and vegetables regularly. Research has shown that those who ate the most fruits and vegetables were three times more likely to have stayed smoke-free for at least the past 30 days compared with those who noshed on the least. Read: Healthy Weight Gain Strategies: Add pounds fast safely, naturally Popcorn As quitting smoking can no longer keep your hands and mouth occupied with a cigarette, you may feel a necessity to take snacks all the time. In this case, you can eat popcorn, suggests the American Heart Association (AHA). It will keep you busy, and help you feel full as well reducing your urge to smoke.  Sugar-free Gum and Mints This works well when you are struggling with a craving for nicotine. As gum and mints last for a long time, you can keep chewing or sucking until your craving dissipates. This will provide the feeling of satisfaction you need to ease your cravings. Besides, it gives you something to do with your mouth. Read Quit Smoking: How to prevent Nicotine addiction Best Drinks to Help Quit Cigarettes Milk Milk is the best food to quit smoking. You can take a glass of milk instead of a cigarette when you feel the urge of smoking a cigarette.  The journal Nicotine & Tobacco Research published a report in 2007 where researchers asked a group of 209 smokers which foods interact with the taste of cigarettes to make them more or less appetizing. In this research, dairy products were at the top of that list.  And, among the dairy products, milk is perfect. As milk hardly pairs with cigarettes, you will not feel the urge for nicotine. Read E-cigarettes turn many young people into smokers: expert Ginseng Tea Whenever you feel the urge to take a cigarette, you can take an awesome drink. Ginseng tea is the perfect option for a drink that can help you quit smoking. Studies have shown that ginseng could truly minimize the effects of nicotine, which could ultimately reduce the appeal of smoking and thereby make it easier to quit cigarettes in the long run. You can take Ginseng tea at least two times a day to get a good result.  Water Drinking water keeps you stay healthy as well as helps you to quit smoking. By drinking enough water, you can distract yourself from smoking when you are struggling with cravings for Cigarettes. Drinking 8 to 10 glasses of water a day will work well. Read Railway bogies, stations declared smoking-free zone: Minister Worst Foods When You are Trying to Quit Smoking Low-Calorie Foods When you are trying to quit smoking, make sure you avoid taking low-calorie foods. Psychopharmacology publishes a study in 2005 which showed that smokers who reduce 700 calories a day smoked 8 percent more cigarettes than those who didn’t lower their calorie intake. Meat Do you really want to quit smoking? Make sure you don’t consume too much meat. Because meat is one of those goods identified as something that made smoking taste better. That doesn’t mean that you will be a vegetarian, but if you can cut down on the meat, it will be easier to cut down on cigarettes. Read WHO to launch initiative to help 1.3 bln people quit smoking Worst Drinks When You are Trying to Quit Smoking Alcohol No doubt alcohol and cigarettes are a good pair. Alcohol is considered something which made smoking taste better. Minimising alcohol intake or avoiding it simultaneously is good for quitting smoking. Caffeine Caffeine-containing drinks like coffee, tea, cola, or any other form – were also associated as something that made cigarettes taste better. If you can avoid caffeine or reduce your intake, it could be easier for you to stay away from cigarettes. Read Speakers for amending Smoking and Tobacco Usage (Control) Act Bottom Line Quitting smoking will cut your risk of developing conditions such as coronary heart disease, heart attack, stroke, peripheral vascular disease, cerebrovascular disease, etc. However, it is not easy to get rid of any addiction. If you want to quit smoking you need to stay careful about regular foods and drinks. So far we have discussed what to eat, drink and avoid if you want to quit smoking. We hope the above-mentioned discussion will help to quit smoking and minimize health problems.

Experts at an event Sunday urged policymakers to incorporate a tobacco harm reduction (THR) strategy into their tobacco control plans and establish safer alternatives such as vaping products. To commemorate World Vape Day 2022, Voice of Vapers Bangladesh organised the panel discussion "The Need for a Tobacco Harm Reduction Strategy: Achieving the Government's Health Agenda and Revenue Ambitions" in Dhaka.  Dr Delon Human, president of Health Diplomats and an expert on harm reduction, said: "To achieve a tobacco-free Bangladesh by 2040, there needs to be a credible harm reduction strategy as practised by many developed countries. The authorities must consider regulating safer alternatives such as vaping and make them accessible to smokers wanting to quit."  Dr Altamash Mahmood, core faculty member (public health nutrition) at the Bangladesh Open University, said: "Cigarettes are harmful, but nicotine is not. This is because smoking involves combustion that creates tar and other toxicants. Vaping only heats the liquid to create vapour to deliver nicotine. It does not induce second-hand smoking." Schumann Zaman, president of Bangladesh Electronic Nicotine Systems Traders Association, talked about how vaping can help the government achieve its health agenda along with its revenue ambitions.  "We need to capitalise on this by regulating the vaping industry; ensuring that the right products brought through the right channels are made accessible. This can only be achieved if a THR strategy is adopted, curated for adult smokers looking to quit, along with the enactment of sensible regulations."   Also read: Bangladesh slightly improves in global tobacco tax index

Passive smoke means the smoke inhaled from other people’s tobacco or cigarette smoke. There are other kinds of smoke available: cooking smoke, fire smoke, paper burn smoke, etc. The impact of Passive Smoking on kids’ Health is vulnerable around the world, especially in poor and developing countries. To prevent your children from smoking causing health hazards you need to take some protective measures like quitting smoking, making sure the environment is smoke-free, smoke-free home and car, etc. Consequences of Passive smoke on a Child's Health Second-hand smoke  Secondhand smoke refers to the smoke which drifts from a lit cigarette and the smoke breaths out from a smoker.  Second-hand smoke is made up of mainstream smoke which the smoker breathes out and sidestream smoke which drifts from the end of a burning cigarette. While a second-hand smoker smokes, the people very near to him are exposed to harmful and damaging smoke of different toxic ingredients in them. Second-hand smoke contains toxins and gasses like Carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, etc. that babies and children can breathe in. Children most commonly come into contact with second-hand smoke while and after while their parents, family members, friends of any of your family members, or nearest one smoke. Read How to Protect Your Child from Sexual Abuse? Second-hand smoke is dangerous for children  Second-hand smoke is dangerous for children and babies as their smaller airways are developing at this period. During this developing stage, babies and children have less mature immune systems than grown-ups. That is why the repercussions are riskier for kids’ and neonates’ health than that of adults. Pregnant and premature infants are also more likely prone to suffer from various extreme health disorders.

The High Court on Tuesday issued a rule asking the government to explain as to why the ineffectiveness of the authorities concerned in preventing scenes depicting smoking in movies and plays, should not be declared illegal. The HC bench of Justice JBM Hassan and Justice Razik-Al-Jalil issued the rule following a writ petition. It also asked the authorities concerned to explain as to why directives should not be given to them for implementing the Narcotics Control Act. Also read: Polluting canal: HC issues contempt of court rule against 5 govt officials Secretaries to the Public Health and Family Planning, Law, Home, Information and Bangladesh Film Censor Board Chairman have been made respondents to the rule which is returnable in four weeks. Advocate Maniruzzaman Linkon stood for the petitioner while deputy attorney general Tushar Kanti Roy represented the state. On February 3, Bangladesh Cancer Society, Anti drug organisation ‘Prattyasha’ and Population Development Organisation (PDO) filed a petition seeking ban on use of smoking and showing smoking scenes in movies and plays. “There is a law on using drugs and tobacco but it is ineffective,” said Advocate Maniruzzaman. On March 11, 2020, a legal notice was sent to the Secretaries to the Public Health and Family Planning, Law, Home, Information and Bangladesh Film Censor Board Chairman seeking implementation of the law. But no response came from the respondent, he said. Also read: HC issues rule on ethics code for news media According to the writ, Bangladesh has signed the ‘Framework Convention on Tobacco Control’ (FCTC) in an effort to discourage people from smoking and tobacco during the 56th conference of World Health Organisation (WHO) in 2003. To make the issue a success, the government enacted a law on Smoking and Using of Tobacco Products (Control) Act, 2005. According to the law, smoking in public places is an offence and there is a provision to fine Tk 300 to those who are found smoking in public places or public transport. As per the section 5 (1) of the law, Prohibition of advertisement of tobacco products. -(1) No person shall-display advertisement on tobacco products in cinema hall or government and non-government radio and television channel, and shall not make any exhibition of photographs audible or made audible :print or publish or make published any advertisement in any books, magazines, handbills, bill-board, newspaper or printed papers published in Bangladesh; and distribute or supply to public any leaflet, handbill or documents containing the name of brand of tobacco product, colour, logo, trade mark, sign, symbol or advertisement.

About 7.69 million people died worldwide in 2019 from different smoking-related diseases, an estimate by an international team of researchers shows. China accounted for the largest number of deaths – 2.42 million, nearly 30% of the world total – followed by India at 1.01 million, the US at 530,000, Russia at 290,000 and Indonesia at 250,000, according to the estimate published in the British medical journal The Lancet. The study, which analysed data from over 3,000 health surveys covered more than 200 countries and regions. Also read: Speakers for amending Smoking and Tobacco Usage (Control) Act The team found the number of smokers in the world topped 1.1 billion in 2019, with 7 trillion cigarettes consumed annually. Although smoking rates are on a downward trend in developed countries, the number of smokers is on the rise in developing countries, including those in Africa, where the population is growing rapidly. The most common diseases that directly caused deaths among smokers were ischemic heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer, and strokes. Smoking is known to increase the risk of developing these diseases. However, the estimate does not include the health damage caused by secondhand smoke. Also read: Quit Smoking: How to prevent Nicotine addiction The team also found that 87% of the deaths were in people who continued smoking, and only 6% were people who had quit smoking more than 15 years before their deaths. As the tobacco industry is developing marketing strategies targeting youths to promote items such as flavoured cigarettes and e-cigarettes, banning the sale of such products will help reduce the number of young smokers, the team said and called for measures such as higher tobacco taxes and advertising restrictions.

Everyone knows that smoking is harmful to health that increases the risk of cancer, heart disease, and other diseases. Knowing this, many of those who once smoked a cigarette out of curiosity later became complete smokers. Those who have been smoking for a long time, fail to quit smoking. Most chain smokers think of quitting smoking again and again but are not able to quit even after trying. However, if you are a smoker, you may follow some rules that can help you quit smoking easily. Let's take a look at some tips given by smoking cessation experts. There are many products that can be used to recover from nicotine addiction. However, most of the products might not be available locally. Hence, it would be great if we can make a habit to leave smoking without using any products. How to Quit Smoking Tobacco Products Find a strong reason to stop smoking If you want to inspire yourself or move away from something, you always need some solid reason. To get rid of the habit of smoking, you need to have a goal of your own. For example, quitting smoking greatly reduces your risk of heart disease or lung cancer, and keeps your body young even as you get older. Also, there are many more reasons you can add to your list to quit smoking. Finally, a person who is addicted to smoking can easily restrain himself if he can understand the identified issues properly. Read Intermittent Fasting: Health Benefits and Risks Take help from nearest and dearest ones Tell your friends, family, and colleagues that you want to quit smoking. Tell them to encourage you. Maybe if you go to a party and grab a cigarette, it will be useful if the people around you refrain from smoking. The study says that the combined behavioral therapy is very useful in eliminating our various bad habits. Control your stress Many people think that smoking is especially effective in relieving their stress. In fact, it is more a matter of thought than of consumption. When a person settles his mind that smoking helps him with anxiety or emotional issues, it becomes very difficult to get rid of cigarettes very naturally. In this case, if you are stressed, all you have to do is take a break and go to a natural shelter. For example, staying in a circle of friends to overcome depression, listening to some beautiful songs, entertaining yourself in the natural scene, etc. As a result of implementing these, you will be able to realize for a while that it is not smoking, but natural or physiological activities that will alleviate anxiety and demand balanced energy. Read Types of Meditation: Which One is Right for You Changes in eating habits Having a cup of tea, with a cigarette; or smoking a little after eating a meal is like someone's daily routine. Some people hold a soft drink in their right hand and hold a cigarette in their other hand. Note that since you want to refrain from smoking, it is very important to change your eating habits for a while. For example, one can keep away from tea or soft drinks for a few days, brush one's teeth after eating rice. After a meal, chat with a friend or have a little conversation with a loved one. Nicotine gum and Lozenges Since regular smoking is a strong bad habit, when someone suddenly tries to refrain from smoking, the person's mental behavior or body changes in various ways. So, think of some alternatives to cigarettes. Studies show that using nicotine gum, lozenges, or chewing gum as an alternative to cigarettes can be somewhat helpful in avoiding bad habits. There are some chewing gums available in the market for quitting cigarettes that are quite effective. You can try them. Read Muscle Building Diet: Best Foods for Muscle Gains, Definition and Fat Reduction Seek help from a doctor Sometimes a brain addicted to nicotine needs to consult a doctor to get rid of smoking. According to the advice, certain rules can be used to keep track of the harms of smoking, such as meditation. Alternatively, if you use cigarettes to relieve stress, think differently. With the advice of a doctor, you can take mental illness medicine instead of cigarettes. Stop drinking alcohol Alcohol is overly connected with smoking and it is as harmful as smoking. So drinking alcohol should be avoided. If you are an alcoholic or casual drinker, you should refrain from alcohol too. Do physical work Physical activity will help you quit smoking. You can start walking or jogging when you desire to smoke. Physical activity can take away your craving to smoke. Moreover, this will eliminate extra calories from your body. Read Barbells vs. Dumbbells: Which is better for Workout, Strength, and Muscle Growth? Some traditional methods After smoking for a long time, nicotine goes deep into the body. There is no substitute for water to wash away the nicotine that accumulates in the body as a toxin. Drink plenty of water to quit smoking. Besides, you may eat ginger. Some of the ingredients present in it suppress the desire to smoke in various ways. You can eat ginger tea or raw ginger. You can eat grape juice. It increases the performance of the lungs by removing toxins that accumulate in the body due to nicotine. In addition, the desire to smoke began to decrease. You can eat oats to quit smoking. Mix 1 teaspoon of oats with 2 cups of boiling water and leave it overnight. The next morning, boil again for 10 minutes and continue to eat a little after each meal. This will get nicotine out of the body. With that, the desire to smoke will also decrease. Read Health benefits of Chamomile Tea Eat fruits and vegetables Under no circumstances should you refrain from healthy eating while quitting smoking. Instead, one should eat plenty of vegetables and fruits at this time. According to a study by Duke University, cigarettes start to taste bad when you eat a lot of fruits and vegetables. So keep fruits and vegetables on the food list regularly. Try again and again If you are highly addicted to smoking, you may not stop it on the first try. Hence, there is no substitute for trying again and again to quit smoking. Set a time for yourself on how quickly you want to quit smoking. Proceed that way gradually step by step. Also read: IKIGAI: The Japanese Secret to a Long Healthy life

Scores of prominent doctors have urged the government to hike tobacco tax in the budget to protect public health. In a joint statement on Friday, initiated by Dhaka Ahsania Mission, 121 doctors said tobacco was involved in six of the eight leading causes of preventable death worldwide. The statement noted that cigarettes are very cheap and readily available in the market due to the multi-layered tax structure of cigarettes in Bangladesh depending on the features and brands. As a result, consumers are able to choose cheaper cigarettes instead of quitting, and the use of cigarettes has been relatively similar in recent years. The availability of tobacco products must be reduced through tax increases, said the doctors. Also read: Speakers want specific taxes imposed to increase price of tobacco products According to the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS), tobacco users have a 57 percent higher risk of developing tobacco-related diseases such as heart disease, stroke, COPD or lung cancer, and a 109 percent higher risk of other tobacco-related cancers. According to the statement, more than 1,61,000 people die of tobacco-related diseases every year in Bangladesh.

Research and Advocacy Organization PROGGA (Knowledge for Progress) and Anti-Tobacco Media Alliance (ATMA) have demanded the government to impose specific taxes on cigarettes and other tobacco products in the upcoming budget for 2021-22. In a press conference held virtually on Tuesday, the two organizations unveiled their proposals regarding tobacco taxes and prices in the 2021-22 FY national budget. Implementation of proposals would prevent premature deaths of nearly 390,000 current adults and 400,000 current youth, according to release. Also read: Dhaka Conference: Amend tobacco laws, impose specific taxes In addition, supplementary duty, health development surcharge and VAT on cigarettes would also earn the government Tk 34 billion in additional revenues, the organizations claim. The Project Head of Tobacco Control at PROGGA Md Hasan Shahriar presented the budget proposals are-- Introducing a tiered specific excise (supplementary duty -SD) with uniform tax burden (SD share of 65% of final retail price) across all cigarette brands. In the low-tier, the retail price should be set at 50 for 10 sticks, followed by Tk 32.50 as specific supplementary duty (SD); In the medium-tier set the retail price at Tk 70 for 10 sticks and Tk 45.50 should be imposed as SD;  In the high-tier, the retail price should be set at 110for 10 sticks, followed by Tk 71.50 as SD; and in the premium tier, set the retail price at Tk 140 for 10 sticks and BDT 91 should be imposed as SD. Read Amend existing law to build tobacco-free Bangladesh Reducing price tiers from four to two in the medium-term (2021-22 to 2025-26) by reducing the gaps in final prices and tax rates between cigarettes brands For 25 non-filtered bidi sticks, the retail price should be Tk 25, followed by a specific supplementary duty of Tk 11.25. The price for 20 filtered sticks should be Tk 20, which will be followed by a specific supplementary duty of Tk 9. As a result of such measures, in both filtered and non-filtered bidis, the specific supplementary duty will be 45 percent of final retail prices. For SLT products, the price per 10-gram jarda and gul should be Tk 45 and 25 respectively. A specific supplementary duty of Tk 27 should be imposed on per 10-gram jarda. For gul, the specific supplementary duty should be Tk 15. As a result of such measures, in both jarda and gul, the specific supplementary duty will be 60 percent of final retail prices. Read Bring smokeless tobacco products under tax net: PROGGA They also propose to retain the existing 15% Value Added Tax (VAT) and 1% Heath Development Surcharge on all tobacco products. According to the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS), 2017, between 2009 and 2017, there has been a 1.5 million increase in the number of cigarette users. The numbers reveal that the existing tobacco tax structure has not been contributing to make Bangladesh a tobacco-free country by 2040, as envisioned by the Honorable Prime Minister. With the ongoing second wave of Covid-19 pandemic, the health sector and overall economy of the country are going through precarious condition. If tobacco use goes unchecked during such a period of vulnerabilities, it would put the additional risk for public health, Shahriar added. Also read:1.26 lakh people die in Bangladesh every year in diseases ... According to World Health Organization (WHO), smokers are more likely to become severely ill when infected with covid-19. This makes the existing tobacco users, around 40 million in number, extremely vulnerable to severe covid-19 infection. In Bangladesh, tobacco use claims 126,000 lives prematurely each year. In a 2019 study titled “Economic Cost of Tobacco Use in Bangladesh: A Health Cost Approach”, it was revealed that in 2017-18, the economic cost (medical expenses and loss of productivity) of tobacco use stood at Tk30,560 crore while revenues from the tobacco sector in 2017-18 FY was only Tk 22,810 crore. He also said raising the prices of tobacco products would discourage the youth from starting use and getting addicted while encouraging the existing users belonging to the poor demographic to quit. Read 10 people fined Tk 2,000 for smoking in public place Supporting fully the budget proposals to increase tobacco taxes and prices, the convener of the National Anti-Tobacco Platform Dr Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad said the government must look for the welfare of the people, as dictated in our Constitution. “Unfortunately, the government only prioritizes the revenue aspect, turning a blind eye to how it impacts the lives of the people.” he also said. Former Vice-Chancellor of Dhaka University Professor Dr AAMS Arefin Siddique said, “To hike tobacco taxes and prices, we can always follow the precedents set by neighbouring Sri Lanka. We can progress through learning from each other. We also need to educate the youth on the detrimental effects of tobacco.” Read Tobacco causes 20% of deaths from coronary heart disease. Senior Research Fellow of the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) Dr Naznin Ahmed said taxes at a specific rate should be imposed on tobacco. It will benefit the government “The covid-19 pandemic has created an opportunity for broader tobacco control. To utilize this, we need to make the harmful effects of tobacco widely known.” She also said. The Research Director of Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS) Dr Mahfuz Kabir said the tobacco taxation structure requires fundamental reform. With that end in mind, specific supplementary duty needs to be introduced. Read Tobacco ban: Industries Ministry quashes health division's proposal “The implementation of taxation and price related budget proposals, particularly in the low-tier cigarette brands, would significantly increase revenues and lower the health risk of poor demographic, considering the fact that 72 percent of cigarette smokers are users of low-tier brands.” Md Mostafizur Rahman, Lead Policy Advisor for Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK), Bangladesh said. “We hope, the National Board of Revenue (NBR) will adopt the proposals. It will increase the government earnings, reduce existing tobacco use and also discourage the young from initiating,” Mostafizur added. Read Are Smokers More Vulnerable to COVID19?

Well, experts say there is not enough reason to believe that secondhand smoke can directly spread the virus that causes Covid-19 but infected smokers may blow droplets carrying the virus when they exhale.

A mobile court here on Tuesday fined 10 people Tk 2,000 each on charge of smoking in public place.