As the saying goes: The Mid-Autumn Festival is full of moon and people reunite. It is the Mid-Autumn Festival, and the gathering of relatives and friends is inevitable. Whether you are enjoying the moon outdoors or having dinner and chatting indoors, don’t let the smell of smoke on your body spoil the atmosphere of the reunion. Wu Zhaojun, director of the National Health Administration, appealed to choose a holiday for the health of yourself and your family, and make up your mind to quit smoking, and let your relatives and friends be the backing or witnesses of your smoking cessation. For ex-smokers, “quit smoking early and live a better life”.
The longer you quit smoking, the healthier you are
Smoking is harmful but not beneficial, and according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, smoking causes cancer, heart disease, stroke, lung disease, diabetes, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis, in addition to Increased risk of tuberculosis, certain eye diseases, and immune system problems, including rheumatoid arthritis1。
Everyone is familiar with the disadvantages of smoking, but do you know the benefits of quitting smoking?The benefits of quitting smoking are almost immediate, according to the World No Tobacco Day 2021 World No Tobacco Day 2021 “103 Reasons to Quit Smoking” report by the World Health Organization (WHO)2From the time you put down your tobacco products, the health benefits brought by quitting smoking have changed in the body. The longer you stop smoking, the greater the health benefits. The process changes are roughly as follows:
1. Stop for 20 minutes: Heart rate and blood pressure will drop and return to normal values.
2. Stop for 12 hours: the concentration of carbon monoxide in the blood drops to normal.
3. Stop for 2-12 weeks: both blood circulation and lung function will increase.
4. Stop for 1-9 months: The symptoms of cough and shortness of breath will be significantly improved.
5. Stop for 1 year: The risk of coronary heart disease is reduced by 50%.
6. 5 years of cessation: 5 to 15 years following quitting smoking, the stroke rate decreases to the same level as non-smokers.
7. Stop for 10 years: The risk of lung cancer is 50% lower than that of smokers, and the risk of cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus, bladder, cervix and pancreas is also reduced.
8. Stopped for 15 years: The risk of coronary heart disease did not differ from that of non-smokers.
Setting Quit Days Increases Success Rates
Surveys have shown that quitters who have set quit dates are 1.3 to 2 times more likely to quit smoking than those without quit dates.3In addition, empirical research points out that the success rate of smoking cessation only by willpower is regarding 3-5% without professional assistance from medical personnel4People who have failed to quit smoking, please don’t give up, give yourself another reason and opportunity to quit smoking, find professionals to help you quit smoking, and use the Mid-Autumn Festival as the beginning of your smoking cessation story.
Make good use of smoking cessation resources Quit smoking is never alone
In order to encourage smokers to quit smoking and reduce the financial burden of quitters, the National Health Administration has waived part of the cost of smoking cessation aids starting from May 15, 2019 (111). The government provides professional and diversified smoking cessation services, including regarding 3,500 smoking cessation service medical institutions across the country. You can also use the free smoking cessation consultation hotline 0800-636363, or use the Line communication software (ID: @tsh0800636363), which is provided by professional medical personnel for convenience Sexual and confidential counseling services, providing individual smoking cessation plans to help you solve smoking cessation problems.
Smoking cessation resources:
◎ Free smoking cessation consultation hotline: 0800-63-63-63, Line communication software ID: @tsh0800636363
◎ Nearly 3,500 smoking cessation service contract medical institutions nationwide (enquiries: 02-2351-0120, websitehttps://ttc.hpa.gov.tw/Web/Agency.aspx）
◎ Contact the local government health bureau (institution) for smoking cessation counseling or services
References:
1. Health Effects. https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/basic_information/health_effects/index.htm
2. More than 100 reasons to quit tobacco. https://www.who.int/news-room/spotlight/more-than-100-reasons-to-quit-tobacco
3. 109 Annual Report on Tobacco Harm Control in Taiwan.https://health99.hpa.gov.tw/material/6908
4. Hughes JR, Keely J, Naud S. Shape of the relapse curve and long-term abstinence among untreated smokers. Addiction 2004; 99:29-38.
Further reading:
[From May 15, 2011, part of the cost of smoking cessation drugs will be waived, and smoking cessation will save money and be easy]
https://www.hpa.gov.tw/Pages/Detail.aspx?nodeid=4576&pid=15571
[Nearly 40% of smokers successfully quit smoking “health factor” is the main reason]
https://www.hpa.gov.tw/Pages/Detail.aspx?nodeid=4576&pid=15989
