Quit Smoking Painlessly Now!

In a cross-cultural survey in Scotland and Singapore, only 1 in 3 respondents was aware that smoking can cause blindness!

The survey was conducted by a group at Scotland’s Ninewell Hospital and Singapore’s Alexandra Hospital from November 2007 to February 2008. Researchers polled 112 participants from Scotland and 163 participants from Singapore to compare their awareness of various smoking-related conditions as well as attitudes towards the use of graphic health warning labels printed on cigarette packs.

85% in both countries knew the risk of lung cancer, heart disease, mouth and throat cancer (oral cancer) and stroke but only about one-third of the respondents knew about smoking causes blindness.

According to Associate Professor Au EongKah Guan, head and senior consultant, department of ophthalmology and visual sciences of Alexandra Hospital and an investigator of the study: “Cigarette smoking increases the risk of age-related macular degeneration by 3-fold to 4-fold and cataract by 2 to 3-fold. Age-related macular degeneration is a deterioration in the health of the most sensitive part of the retina known as macula. A cataract is clouding of the normally clear crystalline lens in the eye.”

Currently the Singapore investigation study team is talking to its Health Promotion Board to add the warning “Smoking causes blindness on cigarette packs. Graphic warning labels have been circulation in in Singapore since 2004 and were later modified in 2006. You can see the graphic labels published at HPB to your left here. However, Australia is the only country so far to carry the graphic warning label which reads “Smoking causes Blindness”.

Incidentally, Britain is considering to get cigarette manufacturers to pack the cigarette in plain black and white box so that they look less attractive to youngsters.

Info Source: Mind Your Body, 4 June 2008