ACCORDING to World Health Organisation (WHO) statistics, smoking kills more than 5 million people a year worldwide. This accounts for 1 in 10 adult deaths. This annual death toll could rise to >8 million by 2030 unless urgent efforts are made to control the situation.
The most common diseases from smoking are respiratory diseases, because when you smoke, it goes through your whole respiratory system. The more common ones are bronchitis, pneumonia, asthma, lung cancer and emphysema (a type of lung disease which makes it hard for a person to breathe).
Heart Foundation of Malaysia director Datuk Dr Khoo Kah Lin has urged all Malaysians to take a stand on the issue, describing tobacco use as “a scourge on humanity”. “There are currently 3 million Malaysian smokers consuming an average of 14 cigarettes a day. Approximately 93% of this number are adults, while the rest are children below 18 years old.
“The number of smokers keep on increasing, even though smokers know full well that smoking causes various diseases, and can swiftly take their lives away.” Statistics continue to prove that smoking can be equated to activating a time-bomb, with a smoker’s health ticking away. “A single cigarette contains more than 4,000 poisons and about 70 carcinogenic substances, which would have a variety of toxic effects,” Dr Khoo said. “These poisonous chemicals can be an irritant to the respiratory tract and lead to various diseases.”
Below is an excerpt of an interview with Dr Khoo on the topic.
Why has the number of smokers increased despite the negative effects garnered from research?
There may be a number of reasons for this. One major factor is:
1. The stress and pressures of modern living, as cigarettes are perceived as a stress reliever. Many people find smoking relaxing and enjoyable.
2. Another reason can be attributed to social and psychological factors. Many smokers start smoking during their adolescent or early adulthood years due to peer pressure.
3. Some may smoke because they want to “rebel”. With the many warning signs of the dangers of smoking advertised everywhere, some smokers have “rebelled” by ignoring the warnings and increasing their cigarette intake.
Some smokers have even convinced themselves that “if it makes you happy, then it can’t be that bad; after all, we are all going to die one day.”
What are the main diseases caused by smoking?
1. It may also lead to cancer of the throat, bladder, kidneys, cervix, pancreas and stomach.
2. Statistically, lung cancer remains the main cause of death from smoking.
3. A smoker may also develop cardiovascular diseases such as ischaemic heart disease, where there is a reduced supply of blood to the heart muscle, or suffer from a stroke.
4. Heart disease is the second leading cause of death from smoking. Quitting smoking is the most powerful intervention possible, and can reduce mortality by as much as 36%.
Smoking in women seems to be a trend in Malaysia. What caused this trend?
1. Social pressure and stress are the main motivations for smoking. I do not deny that women nowadays face more challenges. Playing the different roles of a wife, mother, daughter, housekeeper and a leader at the workplace can place some amount of stress on women.
2. However, some women take up this habit because of a misconception about female empowerment. For others, they view it as a fast route to losing weight.
3. Some may even smoke as a way of dealing with relationship problems, or emotions like loneliness or boredom.
Are women at a higher risk compared to men in terms of smoking health risks?
That is a clear yes. Women are at higher risk than men because of their genetic make-up and intolerance to drugs in general. A woman’s body cannot handle the same quantity of cigarettes smoked by a man. Women who smoke are also 12 times more likely to develop lung cancer than non-smokers, not to mention all the other smoking-related diseases that come with the habit. In fact, women who smoke 40 or more cigarettes daily have a 74% greater chance of dying from breast cancer. The sad fact is that smoking takes a greater toll on women than it does men.
How serious are the consequences of exposure to second-hand smoking?
It has been scientifically proven that adults who inhale second-hand smoke face the same risks of developing lung and heart diseases and cancers, as smokers themselves. The effects of second-hand smoke on children include various infections, low birth weight, and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Side effects like chronic coughing, wheezing, and eye and nose irritation can occur in adults and children alike. Not only that, third-hand smoke can be equally as harmful as second-hand smoke.
Is there such a thing as third-hand smoke?
Yes, there is. Third-hand smoke is essentially an invisible toxic brew of gases and particles that cling to a smoker’s hair and clothing, not to mention furniture, walls and carpeting, which lingers on long after second-hand smoke has cleared the room. This residual smoke includes heavy metals, carcinogens, etc, that young children can get on their hands and ingest, especially if they’re crawling or playing on the floor. Similar to second-hand smoke, the risks associated with third-hand smoke occur when particles from the residual smoke penetrate into the deepest parts of the lungs and contribute to asthma or other respiratory diseases, and more seriously, cancer.
If a person is a smoker, would quitting have any effect on his or her health?
There are definitely tremendous benefits if you quit smoking. You will first be adding more days to every year of your life. Within 20 minutes of smoking your last cigarette, your body will start its internal healing process. You will also be greatly reducing your chances of developing or dying from diseases and cancers associated with smoking. Seriously, think about quitting, as the benefits are many and there are a multitude of resources out there to help you in your effort to shed this habit.
What types of treatments are available for a smoker who wants to quit?
Currently, there are two types of treatment approaches: pharmacologic therapy and non-pharmacologic treatments.
1. Pharmacologic therapy, in simple terms, is the use of drugs to treat a certain condition. This treatment method is used to alleviate the withdrawal symptoms from smoking cessation and helps a smoker abstain from smoking.
2. Non-pharmacologic treatments include counselling, health education, hypnosis and acupuncture. Hypnosis can, in certain cases, be very successful in convincing a smoker to develop and strengthen the desire not to smoke. Acupuncture is useful to alleviate smoking jitters, irritability, cravings and restlessness.
If you stop smoking now, and remain so after 10 years, the risk of developing any smoking-associated diseases drops to one-third to one-half of the risk for smokers.
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