Risks of Smoking Mulled At Health Meet In Brunei

Bandar Seri Begawan – Problems related to smoking habit and its side effects were the centre of discussion during a series of talks on a four-day seminar on health here.

Health experts unanimously said that smoking-related diseases is the major killer in Brunei and around the world.

Dr Haji Rozaimee bin Haji Tengah, cting Senior Medical Officer at the Ministry of Health underscored the side effect of smoking during his talk at the seminar yeaterday.

He said today tobacco has become a global epidemic.

Research showed that four million people died every year, 10,000 people died everyday and one death was recorded every ten seconds due to problems related to smoking.

He also pointed out that those who do not smoke are free from 4,000 chemical substances as well as other amount of dangerous chemicals.

According to Dr Hj Rozaimee, the top five causes of death in Brunei are attributed to smoking.

Statistic compiled by the Ministry of Health in 2003 showed that 21.1 per cent of the deaths is caused by heart attack, 15.4 per cent due to cancer, 8.1 per cent due to diabetes, 7.6 per cent due to stroke, and 6.7 per cent due to asthma, bronchitis and emphysema.

Meanwhile, the Dr Haji Salehuddin bin Abu Bakar, Deputy Director of Health the Malaysian Ministry of Health, shared his views through the topic 'support on smokers'.

According to the World Health Organisation, in the year 2000 there are 1.2 billion adult smokers around the world, most of them burning 13 cigarettes a day.

Through another research in the same year, in Malaysia alone, there are 4.6 million smokers where 10 per cent of them are women.

It is estimated that between 90,000 to 100,000 youths around the world begin to smoke whereas there could be around 50 to 60 youths in Malaysia.

The latest statement by the World Health Organisation showed that some 13,400 people quit smoking every day.

But the statement also said that these people kick the habit not by their choice but rather because of necessity due to health problems caused by life-long smoking. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

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