THE Federation of Private Medical Practitioners’ Associations Malaysia (FPMPAM), the national body representing doctors in private practice in Malaysia, has recommended Malaysia to consider the UK experience in its approach to reduce smoking prevalence there.
FPMPAM’s comments come following an announcement that the UK government will be embarking on the world’s-first ‘swap to stop’ scheme which will provide one million smokers a vape starter kit alongside behavioural support to help them quit the habit.
This was part of the UK government’s move to meet its ambition of being smoke-free by 2030 or by reducing smoking its smoking rates to 5% or less.
“The act of quitting for many smokers is not as simple as going cold turkey. For most, it is about replacing a habit that has become instinctive and natural. We have higher chances of getting smokers to quit if we give them a pathway that supports their psycho-social needs,” commented FPMPAM president Dr Steven Chow.
“The evidence has been there for many years that non-combustible nicotine products are less harmful than smoking and consecutive studies suggests that vaping is an effective alternative in quitting conventional cigarettes.”
Added Dr Chow: “Putting systematic processes in place that leverages on the benefits of harm reduction strategies such as the ‘swap to stop’ scheme is a bold innovative approach to address a recalcitrant public health problem.”
According to the National Health & Morbidity Survey 2015 by the Health Ministry, there are about five million adults aged 15 and above who are current smokers in Malaysia.
Comparatively, in the UK where harm reduction strategies are implemented, smoking prevalence has progressively decreased since 2011 where smoking prevalence stood at 20.2%.
The latest statistics from 2021 show a smoking prevalence among adults aged 18 at 13.3% or an equivalent of around 6.6 million people.
FPMPAM also supported the call by former Chief Justice Tun Zaki Azmi who recommended that the government should look to countries like Japan, the UK and New Zealand for guidance on how to regulate products based on their risk profiles with “cigarettes being the most harmful” and “vaping at the lower end of the risk spectrum”.
FPMPAM added that holistic collaborations between the government, medical practitioners in both public and private facilities as well as harm reduction experts is vital if Malaysia is serious about reducing its smoking levels.
“The correct understanding of harm reduction strategies, coupled with government interventions and behavioural support from medical practitioners and other healthcare professionals, is important if we want to reduce smoking incidences in Malaysia,” asserted Dr Chow.
“FPMPAM urges the government to consult and engage with medical practitioners, harm reduction experts, and all other stakeholders to obtain diverse viewpoints. This can help the government in its steps to develop a framework – be it regulatory or medical – to drive Malaysia’s goal of achieving a smoking prevalence of less than 5% by 2045.”
FPMPAM will be embarking on a three-year campaign to educate and to empower private practitioners, other healthcare professionals and members of the public as key message ambassadors in their programme entitled “Smoking: Don’t start, if you smoke, stop and if you can’t, seek help”. – April 28, 2023
Main pic credit: Firstpost
