Health Promotion Administration (HPA) officials yesterday reminded the public of the dangers of smoking, citing 27,000 smoking-related deaths annually in the nation and the 5 percent rate of success of people who attempt to quit the habit.
Studies have found that a large number of lung and cardiovascular diseases are attributable to smoking, and these conditions are often deadly, Health Education and Tobacco Control Division head Lo Su-ying (羅素英) said.
On average one person dies of a smoking-related illness every 20 minutes, she said, adding that many smokers fail to quit the habit because they use ineffective methods.
The agency in 2003 set up the Taiwan Smokers’ Helpline, a toll-free phone counseling service (0800-636-363) that helps people who want to quit smoking.
Employees have successfully helped 56,000 people through the service over its 15 years in operation, the agency said, adding that 40 percent of those who had used the service were still smoke-free six months after quitting.
This rate is eight times higher than the success rate of people who try to quit smoking on their own, the HPA said.
The helpline’s success helped the National Health Insurance save about NT$306 million (US$10.1 million) on medical expenditures, the agency added.
Su Ting-chin (蘇庭進), a helpline official, said some people are worried that they will get fat or become sick if they quit smoking.
Such side effects are temporary symptoms of nicotine withdrawal syndrome, which many people will experience after quitting, Su said.
Symptoms include anxiety, insomnia, nausea, difficulty concentrating, depression, irritability and weight gain, and begin within three days of quitting smoking, Su said, adding that these are the reasons many people fail to stop smoking when they attempt to do so on their own.
Symptoms become milder after about a month, Su said, adding that their severity can be reduced through medication.
The HPA urged tobacco smokers to protect themselves from smoking-related diseases by calling the helpline, which provides free one-on-one consulting sessions and customized smoking cessation plans.
Counselors regularly check up with people by telephone and through messages to help them through the process, they said.
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The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
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