Want to quit smoking? Read on!

Tobacco Smoking has become increasingly common, and there is a recent rise in younger smokers. Singapore has been introducing measures to control tobacco consumption via various avenues. As a result, smoking rates in Singapore did fall from 23% in 1977 to 12.6% in 2004. The smoking rates have been fluctuating between 12% to 14 % in the last 10 years.

Despite total reduction in smoking, reports by Health Science Authority revealed that there are close to 7000 Singaporeans who are under the age of 18 that smoke, a drastic increase from previous years.

Concerns about tobacco smoking

(Source: Centres for disease control and prevention)

According to the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), health effects of cigarette smoking are detrimental, including death. Locally, about 6 people die prematurely daily due to smoking related disease. These diseases include:

1. Coronary heart disease (risk increase by 2 to 4 times)

2. Stroke (risk increase by 2 to 4 times)

3. Lung cancer in men (increase by 25 times)

4. Lung cancer in women (increase by 25.7 times)

5. Other cancers (bladder, blood, cervix, colon, rectum, kidney, ureter, esophagus, larynx, liver, oropharynx, pancreas, stomach, trachea, bronchus)

6. Pregnancy related complications (preterm delivery, stillbirth, low birth weight, sudden infant death syndrome, ectopic pregnancy, orofacial clefts in infants)

7. Fertility issues (reduced fertility, birth defects, miscarriage)

8. Bone health

9. Cataract

10. Type 2 diabetes

11. Rheumatoid arthritis.

Your road to quitting

Thinking about quitting but unsure where to start? There are many ways to kick start your journey.

1. Join a peer support group

2. Find a distraction (exercising is one of the best distractions)

3. Call quitline or contact us

4. Set a quit date

Because quitting is so important:

• Quitting smoking cuts cardiovascular risks. Risk for a heart attack drops sharply after 1 year of going smoke-free

• Your risk of stroke may reduce to that of a nonsmoker’s within 2-5 years

• Risks of cancers of the mouth, throat, esophagus, and bladder drop by half within 5 years.

• Risk of dying from lung cancer drops by half within 10 years

Here at Preventive and Lifestyle Medicine, our Doctor and health coaches can provide you with smoking cessation programs, catered to individual needs. Contact us to find out more!

More about our Smoking Cessation Program:

• Doctor and health coach initial evaluation

• Personalised goal setting

• Knowledge and skills sharing

• Interactive activities

• Routine follow up by health coach

• Doctor and health coach final evaluation

• Post program follow up and help line