Anti-Smoking Specialist at the Ministry of Health (MOH), Dr. Jamal Abdullah Basahi, highlighted that smoking kills more people each year than accidents and drugs, and the smoking-related diseases and premature deaths of smokers increase the health care costs. “Smoking causes a host of serious diseases and destroys the individual health dramatically, including some chronic diseases such as: heart attack, atherosclerosis, airway obstruction,” said Basahi.
This came while hosting Dr. Basahi at the program: "Hello, Healthy Ramadan", which is organized annually during the holy month of Ramadan by the MOH National Center for Information and Health Promotion, via the toll free number 8002494444. He pointed out that quitting smoking is not easy, but it is a real challenge for smokers, because nicotine is extremely addictive. “Tobacco use is the hardest bad healthy habit for a person to break, and it requires him to have a strong determined will to quit smoking. Hence, we advise those wishing to quit smoking to seek the help of specialists and visit any of the drug addiction treatment centers,” he added.
He went on saying that passive smoking, or the non-smoker exposure to toxic gases emitting from smoker's mouth, cigarette butts and hookah head (i.e. shisha), is very harmful, and greatly affects children. However, passive smoking is not as harmful to others as the smoker himself/herself; because the secondhand smoking is just an exposure to the smoker's gases. He underscored that some studies have shown a link between increased blood sugar level amongst diabetics and smoking, because of the nicotine, and smoking worsens diabetes complications.
“It is so normal for the smoker to feel the desire to smoke after quitting because smoking is addictive. Therefore, there are some pharmaceutical preparations, available in pharmacies, as alternatives for nicotine in cigarettes, in the form of patches, chewing gum and nicotine replacement pills,” he indicated.
He added: “Current scientific trends show that smoking causes several types of cancers, notably lung cancer, the matter which may increase the death rate to more than eight million deaths by 2030 if no urgent actions are taken.”