A doctor warned that smokers could increase their risk of having a stroke by 12 percent and they run a 1.81 times greater risk of developing multiple sclerosis.
Health Promotion Administration (HPA) data show that as many as 35.6 percent of recovering male heart attack patients and 20 to 30 percent of males recovering from a stroke do not quit smoking, Mackay Memorial Hospital deputy superintendent Yeh Hung-yi (葉宏一) said.
The statistics show that public knowledge of the risks to cardiovascular health from smoking remains inadequate, he said.
Photo: Tsai Shu-yuan, Taipei Times
Conversely, 77.8 percent of people with lung cancer are males and only 7.7 percent of them continue to smoke after they recover from lung cancer, Yeh said.
Heart disease, cerebrovascular disease and conditions related to high blood pressure have all been among the top 10 causes of death in Taiwan since the government began keeping statistics, he said, adding that the three causes combined accounted for nearly 40,000 deaths in the nation last year.
Nicotine and other chemicals found in cigarettes could hasten the hardening of arterial walls, he said, adding that the condition increases the risk of stroke, as the arteries become less elastic and less resilient to blockages.
Secondhand smoke also increases the risks to heart health, meaning that those who smoke at home are putting their family at risk of developing heart disease, he said.
Within 20 minutes after a person has stopped smoking their heart rate and blood pressure begin returning to normal levels, HPA Director-General Wang Ying-wei (王英偉) said.
From two weeks to three months after a person has quit smoking, their circulatory system begins to improve, he said, adding that after a year of not smoking, a person’s risk of heart disease is cut in half, and after 15 years heart function would be the same as that of a healthy person.
The HPA and the Taiwan Stroke Society have helped more than 2,000 people quit smoking, the HPA said.
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