HPA cautions of smoking, smoke exposure link to COPD( FOCUS TAIWAN )
發佈日期： 2013-12-12
Taipei, Nov. 19 (CNA) The Health Promotion Administration (HPA) called on smokers to put out their cigarettes Tuesday, citing data that links Taiwan’s high occurrence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) with the prevalence of smoking among men and second-hand smoke inhalation among women.
Some 90 percent of COPD cases are caused by smoking or second-hand smoke, the administration said, warning that every one in four smokers is at risk of developing the deadly disease.
As of 2012, one-third of Taiwan’s men are smokers, representing a big decline. But the number is still 50 percent higher than smoking rates in the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada.
While the female smoking rate was far lower at 4.3 percent, the percentage of women affected by second-smoke at home stood at 22.1.
Exposure to second-hand smoke puts families of smokers at higher risks for developing COPD, as well, the HPA cautioned.
World Health Organization data shows that COPD affects an estimated 10 percent of people aged 40 years and older worldwide. About 3 million people died of COPD in 2011.
Quitting smoking is the best way to prevent the disease, the HPA said, urging smokers to take advantage of government-sponsored programs to promote quitting tobacco.
