The rate of tobacco use among voluntary military personnel has declined 40 percent over eight years, the Health Promotion Administration (HPA) said yesterday, touting a program it launched with the Ministry of National Defense in 2003 to help military personnel quit smoking.
The smoking rate of voluntary military personnel fell from 33.2 percent in 2010 to 19.9 percent last year, the agency said.
The free program to help soldiers quit smoking includes team competitions, lectures, counseling and counselor training, it said.
Photo: Lin Hui-chin, Taipei Times
The program has established outpatient clinics at branches of the Armed Forces General Hospital to help soldiers quit smoking, and has reduced designated smoking areas on military bases from 1,796 in 2009 to 1,029 in the first half of this year, the agency said.
Smokers have a significantly higher risk of injury than non-smokers, as smoking has been linked to slower healing and injury recovery, diminished oxygen and blood flow to tissues, and increased susceptibility to bone fractures, the agency said, citing a US survey conducted last year.
It cited another US study published last year, suggesting that tobacco use costs the US Department of Defense an estimated US$1.6 billion a year through related medical care, increased hospitalization and lost days of work, among others.
The statistics suggest that building a non-smoking military force is important to keep the personnel healthy and save resources, the agency added.
Last year, 1,326 military personnel visited the clinics to quit smoking and the average abstinence rate after six months was 24 percent, while 813 people visited the clinics on military bases and their average abstinence rate after six months was 29 percent, it added.
As studies have shown that peer tobacco use is an important factor affecting soldiers’ intentions to use tobacco, the ministry in 2011 launched a tobacco and betel nut prevention counseling program, training more than 400 counselors a year.
The ministry has urged military personnel to call its tobacco and betel nut prevention hotline (0800-580-791) for free consultation.
The agency has called on the public to make use of more than 4,200 cooperating healthcare facilities for free consultation to quit smoking or call its hotline at 0800-63-63-63.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck Kaohsiung at 1pm today, the Central Weather Administration said. The epicenter was in Jiasian District (甲仙), 72.1km north-northeast of Kaohsiung City Hall, at a depth of 7.8km, agency data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in Kaohsiung and Tainan, where it measured a 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale. It also measured a 3 in parts of Chiayi City, as well as Pingtung, Yunlin and Hualien counties, data showed.
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
Taiwan next year plans to launch its first nationwide census on elderly people living independently to identify the estimated 700,000 seniors to strengthen community-based healthcare and long-term care services, the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) said yesterday. Minister of Health and Welfare Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said on the sidelines of a healthcare seminar that the nation’s rapidly aging population and declining birthrate have made the issue of elderly people living alone increasingly pressing. The survey, to be jointly conducted by the MOHW and the Ministry of the Interior, aims to establish baseline data and better allocate care resources, he
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