Materia Medica Malaysiana

Q is for quit

Want to say tak nak and quit smoking? There are 300 quit-smoking clinics based in hospitals and government health clinics all over Malaysia. All you need to do is make the effort, writes TEE SHIAO EEK.

RAMESH Muniandy has lit up more than 10,000 cigarettes in his lifetime. When he started smoking at the age of 13, he only had three or four cigarettes a day. By the time he entered university, he had graduated to at least 30 cigarettes a day.

Today, he doesn’t smoke anymore, and urges other smokers to quit as well.

Dr Sallehudin bin Abu Bakar...'Tobacco dependence is a disease.'
“Quitting smoking improves symptoms of bronchitis, asthma, emphysema and other chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD). If a smoker stops before middle age, his health risks are reduced to the level of a non-smoker,” says Dr Sallehudin bin Abu Bakar, Deputy Director of the Wilayah Persekutuan Health Department.

“Approximately 15 to 20 years after a smoker quits, the risk of lung disease and coronary heart disease will be almost as low as that of a non-smoker. The risks take a long time to reduce (because) the damage to your organs is almost permanent,” he adds.

Two decades may seem impossibly long, but one cannot expect the toxic effect of cigarettes to disappear overnight. There are, after all, more than 4,000 chemicals in cigarette smoke, including hydrogen cyanide, butane, acetone, ammonia and cadmium. It is these chemicals that cause smoking to be a risk factor for 25 types of diseases.

“Smoking causes 90% of all cancers. It is a major cause of throat cancer, stroke, coronary heart disease and erectile dysfunction,” says Dr Kuppusamy Iyawoo, Head of the Institute of Respiratory Medicine.

“Smoking is also dangerous to family and friends. About 75% of cigarette smoke is released into the environment as second-hand smoke, which increases the risk of lung cancer,” he adds.

It was a picture of blackened, diseased lungs that finally drove the point home for Muniandy. The shocking revelation that he was putting himself and his loved ones in danger made him decide to quit.

In this day and age, it’s safe to say that only a few people do not know about the consequences of smoking. Despite that, the nicotine addiction is still strong, with five million adult smokers in Malaysia.

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There are 300 quit-smoking clinics based in general hospitals and government health clinics all over Malaysia. Klinik Q is situated in the Institute of Respiratory Medicine (before Hospital Tawakal), Jalan Pahang. It is open on Tuesdays (2.30-4.00pm) and Saturdays (8.30am-12.00pm). If you wish to register, you can walk in or call 03-4023 2966 to make an appointment. Treatment is absolutely free.