Four million Malaysians addicted to smoking

About four million Malaysians, or 21.5% of the adult population, are addicted to smoking, with almost one out of two males being smokers, according to the National Health and Morbidity Survey.

The statistics also showed 30% of cancer deaths and 90% of chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases in Malaysia were linked to smoking.

Quoting these figures, GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare Sdn Bhd (GSK) vice-president and general manager (South Asia) Akhil Chandra said yesterday that smoking had become a major cause of a number of health problems.

“On top of being an expensive habit, it is hazardous to both smokers and second-hand smokers,” he told reporters after launching GSK’s latest product, Niquitin. Akhil said Niquitin, which comes in both patch and lozenges form, could help smokers quit the habit. Present at the launch were Datin Dr Aziah Ahmad Mahayiddin and Assoc Prof Dr M. Haniki Nik Mohamed from the Initiative of Malaysian Health Professionals’ Alliance on Cessation of Tobacco (Impact).

Dr Aziah, who is Impact president, said the product could contribute to the Government’s effort in reducing the number of smokers.

Dr Haniki said studies had shown that smokers on the patch or lozenges faced minimal withdrawal symptoms.


Smoking Causes...why do people smoke?

In terms of disease smoking causes cancer, lung cancer, high blood pressure, heart disease, hair loss and many other effects


The question on causes people to smoke is an interesting one yet hardly really asked. How do people get to smoke. What causes smoking?

You may see more of the consequences of smoking under dangers of smoking. These smoking dangers show how smoking causes causes cervical cancer, lung cancer, high blood pressure and heart disease.

This article particularly focuses on what drives people rather than the diseases caused by smoking.

It's just amazing how the media of today is convincingly part of the smoking causes. There is such an unbelievably tremendous trust in media opinions. Take this for a fact, big tobacco has more accurate data about who their target market is and its behavior. Product development work show that 60% of the market start to smoke before the age 13 and 90% before the age 20.

There are many ways that the tobacco industry would then use this data to reach a key lucrative market; teenage tobacco users. Unfortunately this market is often the most vulnerable members of our societies. Skillful cut throat marketers strategically enter into partnerships with movie producers. Just like Apple appears in a movie, cigarettes also appear in movies. This smoking list of actors just shows how tobacco has found backing in the movie industry.

Brutal tobacco marketers further use this data to develop irresistibly attractive smoking ads giving the impression there is nothing as pleasurable as smoking in the world. They also paint on billboards and TV ads a picture of masculinity and femininity, rebellion, freedom and adventure through cigarettes.

Your guess is as good as mine what effect this will have on a young person who had never dared think of smoking before.Debate is gathering momentum around the effects of repeatedly watching people smoking in movies especially for the younger people. It seems smoking causes also emanate from movies. There is some strong evidence between smoking movie stars and teens starting to smoke.

There is a full page on this site with an actor smoking list. There you will find that most of the people that our teens see as heroes in movies actually smoke. Well, at least in the movies they appear in.

On the other hand for those who are trying to quit, seeing smoking people in movies has been shown to increase the urge to smoke again. This is a credible slip or relapse trigger in people who are seriously trying to stop smoking.