Smoking!! TAK NAK!!

TAK NAK SMOKING!!
Is it successfully implemented in Malaysia? Lets analyze...

First we have to understand the symptoms when a smoker try to quit smoking:Craving, difficult concentrating,irritability, anger, frequently sleep disturbance, GI distress, and increased appetite. Can smokers tolerate the symptoms?

The addiction of smoking
Study has shown that the addiction risk is greater than that for any addictive drug including crack cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine. So, that is why even after quiting, most people are highly vulnerable to relapse for many years.

Lets analyze the pharmacokinetics:
Smoke delivered nicotine is absorbed primarily via the lung where it is almost instantaneously absorbed in the alveoli, thus producing arterial spikes that are many time higher than peak levels observed in venous blood, and considerably higher than levels produced by nicotine medications. There is little difference in peak nictotine level or dependence across cigaratte brands because cigarette smokers typically obtain about 1-3mg nicotine from virtually all widely used brands whether "light" or "regular".

Ask the pharmacist!!
Medications deliver their therapeutic nicotine much more slowly, helping to explain why they are not only substantially less addictive than cigarettes but also do not fully replace the rapid relief of craving and production of pleasure produced by tobacco use.

The half life of nicotine averages about 90-120minutes, thus overnight sleep leaves the person at low levels of plasma nicotine and with withdrawal symptoms emerging upon waking, the time to the first cigarette of the day is one of the most reliable signs of dependence with shorter times (within 30 minutes)

Cigarette can be viewed as a portable chemical factory containing hundreds of substances and emitting more than four thousand chemicals when burned. This cocktail includes substances that acy synergistically with nicotine to enhance its addicting effects (acetaldehyde), substances that increase the fraction of unprotonated or "free base" nicotine thus increasing the "kick" (ammonia and urea) substances that ease deep inhalation of large quantities of smoke(menthol and glycerol) as well as flavourings such as chocolate and licorice that make the products more palatable and easily inhalable. No wonder it is so hard to quit smoking....

Brain imaging research suggests cigarette smoke may inhibit monoamine oxidase that might contribute to its mood altering effects such as relief of feelings of depression and possibly contributing to the higher risk of smoking in people with histories of depression. But dont think smoking can heal your depression, it will worsen it over long time. Do consult your healthcare provider for help.

How about "light" cigarette?
Myth: "Light" cigarette do no harm!
Fact: Light cigarettes offer no health benefit compared to regular cigarettes.
Why? Light cigarettes generally have near the tip of the filter which dilute the smoke to the testing machines used to rate tar and nicotine levels but these are easily occluded by smoker's fingers and lips, enable cigarette smokers to easily obtain several times higher levels of tar and nicotine than implied by advertised "FTC method" rating.(Sources: Epocrates CME)

Conclusion: DO NOT SMOKE AT ALL. But how many people actually quit successfully? Is TAK NAK campaign successfully deliver its messages?

For help, contact

Farmasi Pharma Logik 05-6226639

Quitline
National Poison Centre, Penang
04-657 2924

Quit smoking clinics
03-2694 0701 (Federal Territory) For complete list, go to www.infosihat.gov.my

MyHealth portal
Health Ministry
03-8883 1450/1446/1437
Email: contact.myhealth@gmail.com
Website: www.myhealth.gov.my