A total of 1,726 people received counselling and assessment services at smoking cessation outpatient clinics last year, representing an increase of about 31 percent year on year, and the success rate was satisfactory, the Health Bureau (SSM) said in a statement yesterday, on the eve of this year’s World Asthma Day today.
Under the theme of “Asthma Education Empowers”, today’s World Asthma Day aims to enhance people’s understanding of asthma, while raising patients and the general public’s awareness of asthma prevention and self-management.
World Asthma Day is an annual event designated by the World Health Organisation (WHO) on the first Tuesday in May.
Asthma is a major chronic disease affecting both children and adults, the common symptoms of which include cough, chest tightness and difficulty breathing that often worsen at night or during exercise. It is often difficult to find a single direct cause of asthma, the statement said, adding that family members who suffer from asthma are more likely to have closely related family members suffering from asthma themselves.
In addition, people with other allergies, such as eczema and rhinitis, or infants born prematurely, who had a low birth weight and early exposure to tobacco smoke, are also more likely to suffer from asthma, according to the statement, which pointed out that air pollution caused by urbanisation is also a contributing factor to the increase in the incidence rate.
Therefore, the statement said, quitting smoking and staying away from second-hand smoke is an important means of preventing asthma and acute asthma attacks, adding that as early as 2006, the bureau gradually set up “Smoking Cessation Counselling Clinics” health centres in Macau, providing free counselling and smoking cessation services to residents who wish to quit smoking, helping quitters resolve the symptoms of nicotine withdrawal that may occur during the cessation period.
As smoking, dust mites, air pollution, cockroaches and their waste, pet dander*, joss stick smoke, and common foods that cause allergies such as shrimp, crabs and clams are common triggers for asthma, the bureau urged asthma patients to avoid the factors with effective asthma control and, at the same time, learn to use the respective medications such as bronchodilators and steroid inhalers correctly, in order to improve their symptoms and reduce the risk of severe attacks of asthma and even death.
Members of the public can scan the QR code for more information about the bureau’s “Smoking Cessation Counselling Clinics”.
*Pet dander comes from skin cells that are shed by animals with fur or feathers – cats, dogs, guinea pigs, rabbits, birds and so on. Dander can trigger an allergy. Animals without fur, like reptiles, amphibians and fish, do not shed dander so they have less of a chance of triggering an allergic reaction. – Source: American Lung Association
Members of the public can scan the QR code, provided by the Health Bureau (SSM) yesterday, for more information about the bureau’s “Smoking Cessation Counselling Clinic”.
