FEB 4 — Health issues related to smoking are not new in Malaysia. In fact, statistics from the Ministry of Health Malaysia show that smoking is a major risk factor for serious illnesses and causes 10–12 per cent deaths in Malaysia.

Various measures have been taken by the government to curb smoking over the years. Among them are the introduction of smoking cessation services as well as strict regulations over the sale of tobacco.

However, the results from these measures have not been as expected.

Many countries have successfully managed to lower number of smokers by promoting vape as a less harmful alternative. — File picture

Within seven years, only 73,836 smokers participated in the smoking cessation programme in the country, with all of 16,930 or 23 per cent of individuals successfully quitting within six months.

As a medical practitioner, this information caught my attention because the government has to spend billions of ringgit every year to treat patients from various diseases due to smoking.

Recently, a think-tank, DARE (Datametrics Research & Information Centre), published a report entitled "Clearing the smoke: Tobacco harm reduction” which revealed that the population of smokers in Malaysia can decrease to four million in 2025, from the 4.8 million currently, by encouraging smokers to switch to less harmful alternatives such as vape.

The concept of tobacco harm reduction (THR) is becoming increasingly popular around the world and several countries such as New Zealand, the United Kingdom (UK) and several others have successfully implemented THR strategies.

These countries have successfully managed to lower the number of smokers by promoting vape as a less harmful alternative for smokers.

Malaysia too should follow in the footsteps of these countries by moving towards reducing the smoking prevalence in Malaysia by being innovative and accepting science-based solutions.

The report from DARE further stated that through implementing THR strategies, we can also save up to RM1.3 billion by 2025 for spending on treating smoking-related diseases.

This is a very significant figure which, I am confident many will agree, can be used towards generating local scientific studies to study the effectiveness of THR.

For now, our only reference points for THR are international research papers, and the recently published DARE report, which is the first of its kind locally.

Therefore, I call on more of the medical community to conduct studies on THR. If THR strategies can be proven to be effective for smokers who want to quit traditional cigarettes. I do not see why it should not be practised in Malaysia.

I know many in our society, including the medical community, are not exposed to the THR concept as it is not discussed openly and transparently.

I recommend they get online and browse more on THR, and read studies and journals that have been published by scientists and scholars on the subject.

* Dr Nur Khaisiyah Othman is a medical practitioner who graduated from Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University. She has experience in various medical disciplines throughout her service in public hospitals. She also worked in the Department of Anaesthesiology and treated Covid-19 level 5 patients.

*This is the personal opinion of the writer and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.