Nicotine in cigarettes does not actually cause cancer, is smoking harmful to health? tell you the truth

The 35-year-old sister-in-law Wang works as a cook in a small restaurant. Since her husband died in a car accident a few years ago, she has been relying on her son and begging for a living. Later, with the help of the restaurant owner, Sister Zhao, she settled down in a nearby community. .

Now, Xiaofeng, who is only 9 years old, has also gone to primary school, and Mrs. Wang's heart has really settled down, and she has worked harder.

Suffering tends to find people who suffer from misery. Sister Wang, who has a tragic fate, finally ushered in stability but fell ill. At first, it was just a fever and cough . Sister- in-law Wang mistook it for a cold and continued to work after taking the cold medicine. Unexpectedly, the symptoms became more and more serious until she occasionally coughed up blood , which made Sister-in-law Wang feel heavy.

Looking at her son's worried eyes, Sister Wang decided to go to the hospital for an examination. After the CT examination, the doctor suspected the possibility of lung cancer. Finally, after a pathological biopsy, it was found that Sister Wang was in the advanced stage of lung cancer.

Sister-in-law Wang collapsed all of a sudden, crying in the hospital corridor, her life finally began to stabilize, but she was diagnosed with lung cancer, what should her son do!

In the end, with the consolation of everyone, Sister Wang gradually calmed down, but the doubts in her heart were not eliminated: I obviously don't smoke or drink, so how did this lung cancer come about?

1. Not smoking or drinking but suffering from lung cancer, what is the "scourge"?

According to the latest cancer data, cancer caused 9.96 million deaths worldwide in 2020, of which 1.8 million died from lung cancer, ranking first. Follow-up survey results show that tobacco exposure is responsible for 70% of male lung cancer cases, compared with 18% of female lung cancer cases caused by smoking or passive smoking (second-hand smoke, third-hand smoke) .

Domestic cancer survey data show that among women, lung cancer patients account for 15.02% of the total incidence of all cancers, ranking second in the highest incidence of cancer among women. The most important thing is that lung cancer occurs in women in the 40-50 age group rate close to that of men . And the source of all this is the kitchen fumes.

How harmful is kitchen fumes to the human body? There is a saying that describes it like this: "1 hour of cooking = 40 cigarettes".

The study found that if high-temperature frying is carried out in a closed environment, the air will be polluted. The PM2.5 air pollution test is 800ug/m³, which is close to the pollution produced by burning a cigarette.

However, smoking is often temporary, and female groups are exposed to polluted environments for a long time. A survey found that female groups are exposed to air pollution environments for at least 1 hour almost every day .

A relevant study was also published in the international authoritative journal "Lung Cancer", which confirmed that kitchen fumes can increase the incidence of lung cancer by 3.79 times in non-smoker women.

Professor Zhang Zhenfa from the Department of Oncology, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Hospital said: Even among non-smoking women in China, the risk of exposure to second-hand smoke is as high as 70%, and one-quarter of female lung cancer patients have a history of exposure to second-hand smoke, which shows that second-hand smoke Great danger.

Second, nicotine does not actually cause cancer? Don't be fooled

Before, an article circulated on the Internet, saying that nicotine has nothing to do with cancer, and used this to overturn the view that "smoking is harmful to health", but is nicotine really "innocent"?

Nicotine is an alkaloid naturally produced by some Solanaceae plants. When the human body ingests nicotine, it passes through the blood-brain barrier through the blood circulation within 10 seconds and reaches the brain, where it stimulates the brain to secrete dopamine and other neurotransmitters, enhancing the sense of pleasure.

Because of this, it is the main addictive substance in tobacco .

At present, the medical community generally believes that nicotine may not be carcinogenic. The 2014 US Surgeon General's Report and the US FDA in 2017 also publicly confirmed this, but this cannot deny the toxicity and harm of nicotine itself, and some studies have found that nicotine can promote cancer. transfer effect .

A study completed by researchers at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine, conducted an in-depth analysis of the relationship between smoking and brain metastases in 281 patients with advanced lung cancer, smoking cessation, and non-smoking After comparing the lung cancer patients in the population, it was found that the lung cancer patients who maintained the smoking habit for a long time had a higher risk of brain metastasis.

That is, nicotine promotes tumor cells and tumor-promoting factors in the human body and inhibits factors that hinder tumor cells .

The director of the FDA emphasized: When tobacco is burned, more than 7,000 compounds will be produced, and 69 kinds of carcinogens have been found so far. It is an indisputable fact that tobacco is harmful to health.

Nicotine itself is toxic, and it also promotes tumor metastasis. Coupled with its addictive properties, it further expands the harm of other carcinogenic factors in tobacco smoke to the human body, so nicotine and cigarette cancer are inseparable .

3. 4 cooking habits in the kitchen may cause cancer

The high incidence of lung cancer in women is closely related to second-hand smoke and kitchen fumes, but in the final analysis, it is also related to some bad habits when cooking, especially the four habits that must be avoided, which may hide cancer risks.

1. Don't brush the pot after cooking

Many people use it directly after cooking for convenience without washing, so that the oil and residue attached to the surface of the oil pan will turn black under the secondary high temperature, resulting in carcinogenic factors such as benzopyrene.

2. Do not turn on the hood for cooking

When cooking, the ingredients will produce a lot of irritating gases and fumes at high temperatures. If the range hood is not turned on, these irritating and harmful gases will accumulate in the kitchen, which will cause serious damage to the human respiratory system and body after inhalation.

3. Reuse oil, love to use self-pressed oil

Many people like to use self-extracted oil at home, and in order to save, they will reuse it, which will lead to the production of aflatoxin in the oil, which is very unhealthy, and aflatoxin is a class 1 carcinogen with serious consequences. In contrast, refined oil has a high smoke point, less impurities and higher safety.

4. Too much seasoning

Putting too many seasonings in cooking, especially the northern eating habits, can easily lead to a high-salt diet, which will increase the risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.

Some processed meats and pickles contain too much salt, as well as nitrates and nitrites. Eating too much may react with protein hydrolyzates in the human body to form nitrosamines, which are also carcinogens.

People often say: "Disease comes from the mouth". Diet is not only a way for people to obtain nutrients and energy sources, but also related to health and safety. We remind everyone to pay attention to cooking habits, improve bad practices, and protect yourself and your family. Food safety.

References:

[1] "More and more non-smoking women get lung cancer, who is the culprit? 》. Medical Oncology Channel. 2021-03-07

[2] "FDA declares that nicotine is not carcinogenic, and smoking is harmless to health? Rumors | True Medicine". The whole people are true-Tencent News. 2017-08-11

[3] "If you don't smoke or drink, why does lung cancer target them? Just do it for a long time! 》. Popular Science China. 2021-09-29

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