The Health Promotion Administration and health advocacy groups yesterday said that about 90 percent of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) cases are caused by cigarette smoking, and even non-smokers can develop the condition from long-term exposure to secondhand smoke.
On the eve of the 14th Annual World COPD Day, the health administration held an event with the Taiwan Society of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine and the anti-smoking John Tung Foundation, to raise public awareness about COPD — a term covering long-term lung conditions characterized by obstruction of the airways — such as chronic bronchitis and emphysema — which are often irreversible.
Administration Director Wang Ying-wei (王英偉) said that six of the 10 leading causes of death in Taiwan are associated with cigarette smoking, and the biggest cause of COPD, which kills on average one person every 10 seconds worldwide.
Photo: Lin Yen-tung, Taipei Times
More than 5,000 people die from COPD every year in Taiwan, he said, adding that quitting smoking and avoiding exposure to secondhand smoke are the most effective ways to prevent the disease.
A nonsmoking woman in her 50s reported sudden onset of shortness of breath and was diagnosed with serious emphysema at a hospital emergency room, Taiwan Society of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine director Yu Chung-jen (余忠仁) said.
It turned out that her father, husband and son all smoked cigarettes and she had been inhaling their smoke, Yu said.
“Because the normal functioning of the lungs is obstructed, patients often suffer from coughing, shortness of breath, chest tightness, wheezing and excess mucus in the lungs,” Yu said, adding that studies have suggested that approximately 90 percent of COPD cases are caused by cigarette- smoking, but about 40 percent of patients continue to smoke after their diagnoses.
Changhua Christian Hospital physician Lin Ching-hsiung (林慶雄) said the symptoms of COPD often progress slowly with age and can be difficult to detect, with up to 90 percent of early-stage patients not knowing that they are suffering from the disease, so smokers aged 40 or above, or people with a family history of the disease should undergo regular health examinations.
Sun Yue (孫越), a celebrity who is a volunteer anti-smoking advocate at the foundation, said he smoked for 38 years before he quit 30 years ago, but he still has to be hospitalized several times per year due to repeated lung infections caused by COPD.
SHIPS, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES: The ministry has announced changes to varied transportation industries taking effect soon, with a number of effects for passengers Beginning next month, the post office is canceling signature upon delivery and written inquiry services for international registered small packets in accordance with the new policy of the Universal Postal Union, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The new policy does not apply to packets that are to be delivered to China, the ministry said. Senders of international registered small packets would receive a NT$10 rebate on postage if the packets are sent from Jan. 1 to March 31, it added. The ministry said that three other policies are also scheduled to take effect next month. International cruise ship operators
NUMBERS IMBALANCE: More than 4 million Taiwanese have visited China this year, while only about half a million Chinese have visited here Beijing has yet to respond to Taiwan’s requests for negotiation over matters related to the recovery of cross-strait tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. Taiwan’s tourism authority issued the statement after Chinese-language daily the China Times reported yesterday that the government’s policy of banning group tours to China does not stop Taiwanese from visiting the country. As of October, more than 4.2 million had traveled to China this year, exceeding last year. Beijing estimated the number of Taiwanese tourists in China could reach 4.5 million this year. By contrast, only 500,000 Chinese tourists are expected in Taiwan, the report said. The report
The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency yesterday launched a gift box to market honey “certified by a Formosan black bear” in appreciation of a beekeeper’s amicable interaction with a honey-thieving bear. Beekeeper Chih Ming-chen (池明鎮) in January inspected his bee farm in Hualien County’s Jhuosi Township (卓溪) and found that more than 20 beehives had been destroyed and many hives were eaten, with bear droppings and paw prints near the destroyed hives, the agency said. Chih returned to the farm to move the remaining beehives away that evening when he encountered a Formosan black bear only 20m away, the agency said. The bear
Chinese embassy staffers attempted to interrupt an award ceremony of an international tea competition in France when the organizer introduced Taiwan and displayed the Republic of China flag, a Taiwanese tea farmer said in an interview published today. Hsieh Chung-lin (謝忠霖), chief executive of Juxin Tea Factory from Taichung's Lishan (梨山) area, on Dec. 2 attended the Teas of the World International Contest held at the Peruvian embassy in Paris. Hsieh was awarded a special prize for his Huagang Snow Source Tea by the nonprofit Agency for the Valorization of Agricultural Products (AVPA). During the ceremony, two Chinese embassy staffers in attendance
RSS