 |
| A Cigarette is composed of 4000 chemicals and 70 of them are carcinogenic |
Philippines is the texting capital of the world and why not use texting to help smokers quit cigarette smoking? I doubt smokers don't have a mobile phone today.
According to study we are 9th in the world in terms of numbers of Filipino smokers. 10 Filipinos dies everyday in tobacco related disease and 48% attempted to quit in the last 12 months but only 4.5% are successful from Philippine Global Adult Tabacco Survey in 2009.
A Cigarette has 4000 chemicals and 70 of them are carcinogenic that cause cancer. There are 28.3% or 17.3 million Filipinos who are smoking age 15 and above, 2.8 million are women . In simple words, there is 1 smoker in every 4 Filipinos. 80% are daily smokers smoking an average of 11.3 (men) and 7 (women) sticks a day.
Why to Quit Smoking - Reasons and Ways
There are no other reasons but to quit smoking as soon as possible to have a healthy living and live longer. Quitting cigarette smoking is very hard for those people addicted with nicotine and quitting is not a matter of just telling them to stop and quit. We have to help them to break the habit and cravings of smoking because it involves both mental and physical dependance.
Nicotine addiction changes brain functions and remain permanent even when we quit smoking after several years. This explains why one cigarette smoking can trigger a relapse in ex-smoker.
There are many ways to quit smoking, you can do it alone and help with family or by government cessation programs. You can use nicotine patch or nicotine gum and chemicals. You can use e-cigarette and thru texting.
Quit Smoking Success rates
1. Alone, without medicine or help - 4 - 7%
2. Using Medicines - 25%
3. In general it's hard to determine success rate because not all programs are standardize.
How to Quit Cigarette Smoking thru Texting or SMS?
1. Philippine smoking cessation programs can incorporate texting to monitor Filipino smokers cravings and relapse period. This will also help DOH and MMDA mobile cessation programs.
2. Text motivation to stop smoking is a convenient way for smokers.
3. Fiancee or friends can send inspirational message to a smoker to prevent urged or temptation to smoke.
4. Smart and Globe and other telecommunication private companies should be involved in helping smokers quit smoking thru the use of texting or SMS.
5. According to study, sending a text message to quit smoking results in DOUBLE quit rates at 10.6% in 6 months at all ages in social group versus without text messaging.
Sample of Text Message support to Smokers
1. " This is your QUIT DAY! You can do it. GOD will HELP you."
2. "Cigarette cravings last 5 minutes. Take a walk or drink a juice for a while until it subsides."
Let's help Filipinos to start quitting on smoking. It will be more FUN in the Philippines without Cigarette Smoking.
Text them now before it's too late.
Sources:
DOH Smoking Cessation Program
MMDA Mobile Cessation Program
Smoking Double Quit Rates thru Texting
Comments
Post a Comment