Smoking 3rd Most Risky Factor Behind Deaths In Thailand, After Unsafe Sex And Drinking

[webfact]

NHSO ready to help smokers quit

By The Nation

At least 11 million Thai people are smokers and some 50,000 of them suffer from tobaccorelated illnesses on a yearly basis, which results in the country losing Bt51.5 billion every year, the Health Professional Network for Tobaccofree Thai Society Network revealed yesterday.

The network president Somsri Paosawat said that smoking was the third most risky factor behind deaths in Thailand, after unsafe sex and drinking. She went on to say that nortriptyline, a drug that helps people quit smoking, is included in the national list of essential medicines. A smoker needs 270 tablets, which go for Bt1 each, to give up the habit, she said, adding that the universal health scheme also covered treatment for tobacco addiction.

National Health Security Office (NHSO) chief, Dr Winai Sawasdivorn, said those with an NHSO "gold card" who wanted to kick the habit could apply for the treatment at hospitals.

Their comments were made ahead of the annual World AntiSmoking Day, which is marked on May 31 every year.

-- The Nation 2011-05-27

[inthepink]

I would think that smoking causes far more premature deaths than unsafe sex - that's a ridiculous article.

[x5david]

An obvious attempt by the health ministry to get people to stop doing the things they love....

[micky6]

Have these people never been on a Thai road?

[MengWan]

The FIRST cause of death is ageing ...

When will there be a campaign against AGEING ?

[jonclark]

An obvious attempt by the health ministry to get people to stop doing the things they love....

You're right - wanking is a number 4

[Keng11]

Have these people never been on a Thai road?

Exactly!!!

[happysanook]

I would think that smoking causes far more premature deaths than unsafe sex - that's a ridiculous article.

Have these people never been on a Thai road?

2nd both of these. i think a reassessment of the data is in order here.

[eddie61]

I would think that smoking causes far more premature deaths than unsafe sex - that's a ridiculous article.

I'm not sure about that. Unsafe sex causes unsafe births, which eventually leads to death (usually about 75 years later). Therefore the leading cause of death is sex. QED.

Drink also can lead to sex, by the way

[jaltsc]

Of course they never mention that the anti-smoking laws are never enforced. Big signs all over stating 2,000 THB fines and people (including policemen, military officers and monks)smoking in front of those signs. What about the people who don't smoke, but are forced to breathe in second hand smoke in restaurants and other public facilities? If people want to continue smoking tobacco and don't mind committing suicide on the installment plan, no one should stop them. It is natural selection in progress. However, their death wish should not be forced upon the rest of the population, including innocent children who are the most vulnerable.

For smokers, there appears to be "...the FALSE notion that..."my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge." - Isaac Asimov

[Phuket Stan]

The FIRST cause of death is ageing ...

When will there be a campaign against AGEING ?

Which political party is going to bring in some laws to stop this terrible crime

[reason1]

I think the number one cause is texting whilst smoking during unsafe sex after drinking too much still driving

[SICHONSTEVE]

Have these people never been on a Thai road?

I agree that Thai roads are, lets say, not the safest place to be compared to the roads in other countries on account of the fact that there doesn't seem to be much in the way of laws and rules here in Thailand (not those that are strictly enforced or adhered to, anyway).

However, if you were to visit hospitals or study the general health of those smokers (coughing and spluttering their way through life) then you would see that deaths and injuries from road accidents would pale into insignificance compared to the number of deaths and illnesses caused by smoking. There's secondary smoking issues as well don't forget!!! Fortunately, this has improved a great deal as smoking in public places (and areas) is largely banned throughout the civilised world now.

Cigarette manufacturers are not the only ones losing out because of these bans in public spaces as washing detergent and shampoo manufacturers sales must have dropped also because it is unneccesary to wash your hair and clothes after every night out at the pub. You could say "eureka that you don't wreaka" now after a nights enjoyment chatting to your mates and downing a few pints (also accumatively more endangering to your life than driving in Thailand) - unless you do BOTH one after the other that is, whereby the danger is multiplied several times!!!

You have probably guessed that I am, and always have been a NON-smoker due to the risk that it poses to my health and life whereas getting into a car in Thailand doesn't cause me an anxiety attack relating to concerns of whether I'm going to get back home in one piece after a long (or even relatively short) journey - that's the difference!!

[chmiroau]

This debate will always bring out the ardent smoker, who despite the heavily proven fact that smoking is very dangerous to their and other peoples health, they always claim that it is not against the law for them to smoke, so why is it dangerous.

This kind of attitude really stinks. When I was a smoker, I knew that non smokers felt unpleasant when around smokers, so I never did it. Why is it so hard for so many smokers to know this simple truth.

The facts are that many things that we humans do is bad for our total health, however there are many things that have a proven bad ending, smoking drink driving, excessive drinking and unsafe sex with unknown partners rate pretty high.

The writing has been on the wall for ages, time to read it people.

[KCPhuket]

Well, there is humor here for sure. But I for one give an E for effort. Look how many years the so-called developed countries have been trying to reduce smoking. I am from the USA and they spend billions of dollars to sell smoking products and billions more on health issues because of smoking. It is definitly a huge business.

[chmiroau]

The FIRST cause of death is ageing ...

When will there be a campaign against AGEING ?

Um,, you just don't get it, do you?

The whole reason for these campaigns is to allow you the ability to get old, to die of natural causes! If you do things that threaten your bodies ability to live until you are old, then other people who want to live until they are old will probably tell you that what you are doing will shorten your life.

There are many things that will possibly end up with a shortened life expectancy, and if we know about them we can make an informed decision about whether to do them or not. This includes such things as; smoking, drink driving, excessive drinking, unsafe sex, dangerous driving, and others like planking.

These are warnings. Please if you choose not to follow them, at lease when you do die, please, please don't take an innocent and unwilling person with you.

[FOODLOVER]

Or as we called it "the good old days".

[chmiroau]

Well, there is humor here for sure. But I for one give an E for effort. Look how many years the so-called developed countries have been trying to reduce smoking. I am from the USA and they spend billions of dollars to sell smoking products and billions more on health issues because of smoking. It is definitly a huge business.

There is also the fact of political correctness. This means that it is ok for governments to state that smoking is bad for you, but they can't say that obesity is much much worse. In Australia the obesity rate has sky rocketed, so has the total medical expenditure wasted to provide medical to these special needs patients. However, because it is deemed politically incorrect to comment on a persons weight, nothing can be said about it.

[madmitch]

So, more people die every year in Thailand of AIDS or other sexually transnmitted disease that from smoking related causes (or on the roads).

Sounds unlikely but if it's true why not give the stats so people don't just read the article in disbelief.

[alant]

Have these people never been on a Thai road?

I agree that Thai roads are, lets say, not the safest place to be compared to the roads in other countries on account of the fact that there doesn't seem to be much in the way of laws and rules here in Thailand (not those that are strictly enforced or adhered to, anyway).

However, if you were to visit hospitals or study the general health of those smokers (coughing and spluttering their way through life) then you would see that deaths and injuries from road accidents would pale into insignificance compared to the number of deaths and illnesses caused by smoking. There's secondary smoking issues as well don't forget!!! Fortunately, this has improved a great deal as smoking in public places (and areas) is largely banned throughout the civilised world now.

Cigarette manufacturers are not the only ones losing out because of these bans in public spaces as washing detergent and shampoo manufacturers sales must have dropped also because it is unneccesary to wash your hair and clothes after every night out at the pub. You could say "eureka that you don't wreaka" now after a nights enjoyment chatting to your mates and downing a few pints (also accumatively more endangering to your life than driving in Thailand) - unless you do BOTH one after the other that is, whereby the danger is multiplied several times!!!

You have probably guessed that I am, and always have been a NON-smoker due to the risk that it poses to my health and life whereas getting into a car in Thailand doesn't cause me an anxiety attack relating to concerns of whether I'm going to get back home in one piece after a long (or even relatively short) journey - that's the difference!!

pale into insignificance? do we have data here? what is a smoking related illness? if a person who has never smoked or been close to a smoke environment develops lung cancer is that smoking related?

[alant]

Well, there is humor here for sure. But I for one give an E for effort. Look how many years the so-called developed countries have been trying to reduce smoking. I am from the USA and they spend billions of dollars to sell smoking products and billions more on health issues because of smoking. It is definitly a huge business.

There is also the fact of political correctness. This means that it is ok for governments to state that smoking is bad for you, but they can't say that obesity is much much worse. In Australia the obesity rate has sky rocketed, so has the total medical expenditure wasted to provide medical to these special needs patients. However, because it is deemed politically incorrect to comment on a persons weight, nothing can be said about it.

obesity, now there is a good subject. in many places people are getting fatter, more are obese but alarmingly they seem to be living longer as well. amazingly the concept of normal ranges and distribution curves does not seem to apply to the definition of obese. could it have been wrong in the first place?

[RickFarang]

"Thai people are smokers and some 50,000 of them suffer from tobaccorelated illnesses on a yearly basis, which results in the country losing Bt51.5 billion every year..."

This suggests that each person who is ill from "tobaccorelated" illness costs the country 1 million Baht every year. Credible figures?

But let's see: 11 million smokers x 271 baht per course of Nortriptyline = Bt2.9 billion. I think the numbers are starting to make sense!

[jakhoeblal]

all lies... but maybe the president did not know.

Please see the REAL causes of death in http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs310.pdf

have fun

[frenchcaptainbob]

'...A cigarette after unprotected sex followed by a motorcycle ride home after drinking Thai whiskey. Thailand's life on the edge.'

It's to keep the population not to overgrow, uncontrollably. As for the current population already 1/3 is just SURVIVING... And they are not the sort to export easily. I donot quite see many ( any ) country welcoming Thai workers. It's not only a matter of smoking or is it ?

You may add a second third "on the edge of living ". Would be those pretty secretaries by the millions, in Bangkok, Govet Officers like policemen, people in the range of 7 / 8000 THB a month. Anybody to pretend you can LIVE, even in Thailand ( cities ) with 8000 THB a month ?

So I bet, INDEEP, those people don't care a dam_n to escape their ugly lives. The money used to cure them, certainly would be more appropriated to put them ON TRACKS, starting with decent schools, and the ability to make a DECENT living...

[wandrinstar]

National Holidays and Motor Scooters surely.As a Non Smoker i must say the Arm Flappers and Anti mob,get on my tits too.

[QED]

Sounds like the preamble to a tax duty increase, to 'save us from ourselves'. Same old BS in every country in the world.

Also they don't mention the tax revenue when talking about expenses. OK so they allegedly spend 51.5 bn on 'smoking related illnesses' (impossible to define but there you go).

Judging by global prices, the tax take per pack of cigarettes must be somewhere between 30-40 baht.

11 mn smokers, lets assume average consumption of 1 pack per day.....

11,000,000 x 30 baht (erring on caution) x 365 days = 120,450,000,000 (120 bn).

So if we all gave up tomorrow the government would lose 69 Bn per annum net revenue ($2.3 bn), the classic double edged sword faced by governments worldwide.

Someone calculated a few years ago if everyone in the UK stopped smoking the health service would collapse, as the average smoker pays 3-4 times in tax on their cigarettes than what it costs to treat them. Yet they are still villified as a burden on the National Health Service - go figure.

[Briggsy]

An obvious attempt by the health ministry to get people to stop doing the things they love....

You're right - wanking is a number 4

Wanking has already been banned by the exertion of pressure on Internet Service Providers to censor certain sites. Next!

[wlcart]

all lies... but maybe the president did not know.

Please see the REAL causes of death in http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs310.pdf

have fun

Great link, data is from 2007 and not Thailand specific but still, at least some hard facts.

Interesting, for both middle and low income countries HIV/AIDS kills more than traffic accidents. I would of never thought of that. I always feel more in danger on the road than banging girls.

Also worth noting that many of the big killers like heart disease, respiratory issues, stroke, so on are all linked to smoking.

It would be great to see what numbers the government went by, but regardless, looks like both TV members and Thai officials don't let facts get in they way of truth.

[sirchai]

I would think that smoking causes far more premature deaths than unsafe sex - that's a ridiculous article.

I'm not sure about that. Unsafe sex causes unsafe births, which eventually leads to death (usually about 75 years later). Therefore the leading cause of death is sex. QED.

Drink also can lead to sex, by the way

Alcohol makes ugly girls pretty sexy for a short period of time. Awaking next to something that could cause a heart attack might be dangerous for your health as well. Is P.O.T. better then?:jap:

[ginjag]

'...A cigarette after unprotected sex followed by a motorcycle ride home after drinking Thai whiskey. Thailand's life on the edge.'

It's to keep the population not to overgrow, uncontrollably. As for the current population already 1/3 is just SURVIVING... And they are not the sort to export easily. I donot quite see many ( any ) country welcoming Thai workers. It's not only a matter of smoking or is it ?

You may add a second third "on the edge of living ". Would be those pretty secretaries by the millions, in Bangkok, Govet Officers like policemen, people in the range of 7 / 8000 THB a month. Anybody to pretend you can LIVE, even in Thailand ( cities ) with 8000 THB a month ?

So I bet, INDEEP, those people don't care a dam_n to escape their ugly lives. The money used to cure them, certainly would be more appropriated to put them ON TRACKS, starting with decent schools, and the ability to make a DECENT living...

I live on 8 thousand bht a month, So I pretend ???? AND I don't have the luxury of setting up road blocks for extra's.

Living in a rural area, with good food -veg -potatoes-eggs bread, NO BOOZE--FAGS-little--NO Thai g/f to want my visa.

believe up to you -but true. This is far different from a girl a night-booze and dinners-Pat/Sam/Phu/Bkk. So for your information My UGLY life is terrible. It's up to the people what they spend, and how you choose your free time, If Thais want to die early and can't help themselves, What can anyone do--you try to tell a Thai person what to do and how to live--it's a no no, and it's not our business. family and education-start there, or maybe parents ought to go to school to learn how to bring kids up properly.