Harm Reduction For Malaysians

Hey! Are you a smoker? Lucky you if you don't! We all know the danger of smoking, it is a harmful habit that can lead to many severe health complications. Smoking can cause lung infections such as pneumonia and tuberculosis, plus it also increases your risk of getting heart disease, stroke and cancer. Smoking is women's worst enemy as it causes premature aging, in fact women who smoke have a greater risk of dying from heart disease compared to men who smoke. A pregnant smoker is at higher risk of miscarriage and having pregnancy complication. 

 

Pic credit Time.com

Smoking is a hard habit to break. Once you start smoking, it's not easy to quit! Nicotine addiction is real.The amount of nicotine that goes into the body is determined by the type of tobacco product that the person smokes. Hence, if you're a smoker, why not opt for less harmful alternatives to reduce the levels of harm from tobacco. For instance, you can try e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products. E-cigarettes do not burn tobacco nor produce tar or carbon monoxide, therefore, it is less harmful than cigarettes. Switching to e-cigarettes could also help smokers quit smoking. With e-cigarettes, you'll inhale nicotine in a vapour rather than smoke aka vaping which also reduce the amount of harmful chemicals. 

A major UK clinical trial published in 2019 found that, when combined with expert face-to-face support, people who used e-cigarettes to quit smoking were twice as likely to succeed as people who used other nicotine replacement products, such as patches or gum. However, do note that you will not get the full benefit from vaping unless you stop smoking cigarettes completely. 

Tobacco smoke contains many cancer-causing chemicals such as carbon monoxide, ammonia, nicotine and tar, just to name a few. What's more frightening, even secondhand smoke(passive smoking) also pose serious health risks as it contains more than 7000 harmful chemicals. While smoking is harmful, the real culprit with smoking and cigarettes is burning. This is simply because by burning the cigarettes and tobacco, the smoke released contains harmful chemicals that cause smoking-related diseases such as lung cancer.

Well, if you're up to quit smoking that would be the best option. Quitting smoking not only lower your risk of getting heart disease, cancer and many other diseases, you'll live longer too. Regardless of your age, it's never too late to quit smoking and improve your health. It may be tough to quit smoking but if you believe in yourself, anything is possible. 

Real-life story, a friend of mine who has smoked heavily(up to a pack a day) for many years managed to quit for good. I can't help but notice how great he looks and of course overall better health after quit smoking. And not to mention, the money he save from quitting. So yeah, quitting smoking is tough but it is doable! Regular exercise is a great way to boost your mood whilst keeping your mind active to distract you from smoking. 

Are you ready to start a new smokefree phase of life for a better and healthier Malaysia? Do it for your family and loved ones! For more information on #TobaccoHarmReduction please visit https://haahub.com