According to a heart specialist, there should be a decent substitute for cigarettes for Filipino smokers. Considering the health risks, a cigarette alternative might be a reliable resort for smokers to initially contain their smoking habits and later on end them.
Smoking is a serious concern for Filipinos. It might be worse than the current pandemic covid-19 as per Dr. Rafael Castillo’s statement. Being a trustee of the Filipino United Kingdom-based International Society of hypertension, he believes the country’s smoking problem is in a vicious cycle.
Unfortunately, the most common factor responsible for cancer there is also smoking. A lot of people lose their precious lives at the hands of smoking.
What can be a comparatively lesser harmful alternative are modern tobacco products. Such products are equipped with a battery that simulates tobacco smoking – the smoker consumes vapor instead of smoke. It somewhat mitigates the harm of an actual cigarette with the hope that the smoker will quit it one day.
Castillo in a scientific meeting of the Philippine Heart Association suggested giving such smoking alternatives to encourage the reduction of the curse among Filipinos. There is no denying that it is easier said than done as quitting smoking is not a walk in the park. Going turkey for smokers is difficult due to long-term addictions and the interventions like gums, nicotine patches, lozenges, etc. do not help. This calls for smoking alternatives like e-cigarettes.
The Philippines falls second in the list after Indonesia for the highest-burden of cigarette use in Southeast Asia.
In a shocking revelation, Castillo said that out of every four deaths in the southeast Asian region, one person is dying of cardiovascular disease and one out of those ten deaths is caused by tobacco consumption. This calls for a dire need for a pragmatic approach – an approach that slows down the smoking prevalence and replaces it with a lesser harmful smoking alternative i.e. nicotine replacement therapy.
Moreover, tobacco products that are heated could be one of many risks. This can be tackled by encouraging usage of smoking alternatives. All of this primarily depends upon the lifestyle and behaviors of smokers as well. In this regard, Castillo remarks that smoking often comes from the bad life choices made at the cost of health. While complete cessation is the only practical solution, it can be synonymous with moving mountains. Therefore, a need for some kind of solution halfway between addiction and cessation rises. Sadly, the number of smokers is only going to multiple in a few years if the issue is not addressed properly.
Finally, Castillo reported that the number of people quitting is disappointing not only among Filipinos but worldwide too. The aggressive intervention strategy has not brought good results. This makes cigarette alternatives the intelligent choice to suppress the growing numbers of smokers by making them switch to a comparatively healthier lifestyle with the hope of quitting this addiction one day.
