Materia Medica Malaysiana

Chua: Adopt healthy lifestyle and avoid alcohol

PUTRAJAYA: After trying to get Malaysians to stop smoking, the Health Ministry now wants to discourage them from consuming alcohol.
Saying “No” to booze is the latest component to be included in the ministry’s healthy lifestyle campaign, said Minister Datuk Dr Chua Soi Lek.
The other components are having healthy eating habits, an active lifestyle and stress management.
He said that while alcoholism was not yet a major problem in the country, consuming alcohol, especially excessively, could have serious repercussions on the health and safety of the people. These included a higher risk of contracting liver diseases and accidents occurring due to drink driving, he said in an interview yesterday.
Dr Chua said there was already a higher incidence of Malaysians (30%-40% of the population) having fatty acids in their liver and if they consumed alcohol, complications of the liver such as cancer and cirrhosis could occur.
There was also a high occurrence of Hepatitis B among the people and alcohol could aggravate their condition, he said.
Dr Chua added that alcohol could be a contributing factor to road accidents.
“In terms of accidents, we have one of the highest rates in the world at 25 deaths per 100,000.
“Last year, there were more than 6,000 deaths. Recklessness is influenced by drugs and alcohol, but we have not come up with the figures as yet,” he said.