KOTA KINABALU: Sabah recorded the highest prevalence of smoking in Malaysia at 28.4 per cent as compared to the national figure of 22.8 per cent in 2015, according to the National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS).
Sabah Health Department director Datuk Dr Christina Rundi said the number of female smokers was also on the rise based on the survey.
But an even more worrying trend was the growing prevalence of school children as young as primary school pupils having tried smoking or being exposed to second-hand smoke, she said.
“We have information from our healthcare and dental teams on the number of school children who have tried smoking or are being exposed to cigarette smoke.”
Apart from oral examination, she said the health and dental teams would ask students whether anyone in their family or house guests were smokers and if they have tried smoking.
“Some kids, being innocent as they are, said they have tried smoking before.
“If the prevalence of smoking in Sabah is close to 29 per cent, it is not surprising that these children have tried smoking at such a young age.”
Dr Christina said children who started to smoke at an early age would most definitely be carrying on the habit throughout their adulthood.
“Hence, we want to reduce the prevalence so that people know this is not the way of life.
“The younger generation will not smoke when their elder family members do not have the habit,” she said during the State-level launching of public parks as no-smoking zones at Taman Ujana Rimba Tropika here yesterday.
The launching was officiated by Kota Kinabalu City Hall (DBKK) deputy director-general of operations, Noorliza Awang Alip, who represented Mayor Datuk Yeo Boon Hai.
Dr Christina said the State Health Department had been carrying out programmes through its healthcare and dental teams, as well as activities under the Young Doctor Club and Oral Health Without Cigarette Smoke (KOTAK) programme to curb smoking among school children.
At present, a school each from Inanam and Beaufort have been selected to run pilot projects under the KOTAK programme, aimed at creating a non-smoking younger generation, she said.
She also reminded smokers not to expose young children to second-hand smoke.
Earlier in her speech, Dr Christina said the NHMS found that one in five Malaysians were smokers in 2015. The prevalence of smoking among men has shown a slight decrease to 43 per cent in 2015, from 49.2 per cent in 1996.
“This shows that almost one in every two men in the country is a smoker.
“The situation has become more serious with the drastic increase in e-cigarette usage from 0.7 per cent in 2011 to 10.9 per cent in 2015.”
Dr Christina said the smoking prevalence among Malaysia was an issue that must not be neglected.
“If we do not address this issue, the Sabah Health Department and Ministry of Health will be confronted with citizens who suffer from various diseases such as lung cancer, chronic respiratory illness, heart attack and children born with disabilities.
“So when we plan health facilities, we have to devise plans on controlling or treating these diseases.”
She said smoking was not only an economic burden to the country, but also to the patients themselves and their families.
“Smoking does not only affect the smokers, it also has an implication on others and the economy of our country,” she stressed.
Also present were permanent secretary of the Local Government and Housing Ministry, Datuk Ginun Yangus, State Health Department deputy director of public health, Dr Ismail bin Ali and Kota Kinabalu health officer Dr Jiloris F. Dony.