No Tobacco Day: May 31, As Endorsed by the World Health Organization

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By Jessica A. Rickert, DDS

May 29, 2025

 Do you want an attractive face?  Do you want a fabulous smile? Want to be cool?  Then, put that tobacco down.

Tobacco (and nicotine) use in any form—cigarette, cigar, pipe, smokeless and vape—can have a negative impact on appearance at an early age.

Your complexion can get worse with discoloration and skin tags.  Your face can look dull, sullen and leathery. Fine lines may develop around your eyes and dark bags will form under them. 

Eyes can become bloodshot and dry. Deep wrinkles can form around your mouth.

Your hair can lose luster and shine because the chemicals in cigarettes cause hair to be starved of oxygen, making it dull and brittle.

Bad smells include stinky breath and smoke on your hair, body and clothes. 

Smoking can ruin your teeth—gum disease results in red, puffy, ugly gums with increased pain. Teeth stained by smoking can be up to five shades darker than non-smokers. Smokers are twice as likely to lose their teeth than non-smokers. More than 48,000 Americans are diagnosed with oral cancer every year, mainly caused by using tobacco.

Often, your voice will weaken, accompanied by a cough. 

Tobacco use remains the nation’s number one cause of preventable, premature death because smokers are starving the cells in the body of oxygen.

Tobacco users have a much greater incidence of all cancers at an earlier age, especially mouth, throat and lung cancer. Here are just a few other health impacts:

• Severe blood cancer is associated with tobacco use. (Acute myeloid leukemia)
• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, including chronic bronchitis and emphysema, makes it difficult to breathe.  All pneumonias are more frequent in smokers and are harder to treat.
• Heart attacks occur more often and at younger ages in tobacco users.
• Strokes occur when the supply of blood to the brain is interrupted or blocked completely, causing brain tissue to die.
• An abdominal Aortic Aneurysm is a bulge in the lower part of the largest blood vessel, the aorta; this is life-threatening if untreated.
• Eye diseases leading to blindness occur in tobacco users. You are twice as likely to develop macular degeneration compared with people who do not smoke. You are three times more likely to develop cataracts compared with non-smokers.

Vaping is particularly dangerous. All the above diseases and afflictions can happen at younger and younger ages. Vapes contain nicotine and many toxins and metals, all heated to a higher temperature than cigarettes. Additionally, the cartridge contains batteries that can explode and disfigure you for life.

Tobacco marketing is dominated by themes of social desirability, empowerment and independence, which are conveyed by images of slim, attractive, sultry and athletic models.  Don’t believe it!  Athletic prowess is greatly weakened by tobacco use.

Can you afford to burn money?  The average cost of a pack of cigarettes is $6.96, which means a pack-a-day habit sets you back $208.80 per month or $2,541.00 per year. 

Quit today by calling toll-free 1-855-5AI-QUIT (1-855-524-7848) to connect directly with American Indian Commercial Tobacco Program counselors.  Your Anishinaabe health department can help you to stay strong,         

References:

• https://americanindiancancer.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/swtobacco-all-2017.08.06.pdf
• https://mi-americanindian.quitlogix.org/en-us/ & https://aiquitline.org/en-US/About-Program
• https://truthinitiative.org/
• https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/tobacco_industry/marketing/index.htm
• https://www.tobaccofreekids.org/assets/content/what_we_do/industry_watch/product_manipulation/2014_06_19_DesignedforAddiction_web.pdf
• https://allwomenstalk.com/7-ways-in-which-smoking-affects-your-beauty/
• https://nationaltoday.com/world-no-tobacco-day/#:~:text=World%20No%20Tobacco%20Day%20is%20an%20initiative%20by,that%20is%20geared%20towards%20the%20youth%20in%20particular

Dr. Jessica A. Rickert is a tribal citizen of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation. A graduate of the University of Michigan School of Dentistry, in 1975, she became for the first female Native American dentist.

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