Dahilan ng sakit ng mga naninigarilyo tinukoy ng mga eksperto

Dahilan ng sakit ng mga naninigarilyo tinukoy ng mga eksperto

February 1, 2023 @ 5:46 PM 2 months ago


MANILA, Philippines – Inihayag ng dalawang “leading oncologists” sa buong mundo na hindi ang nikotina kundi ang nasusunog na sigarilyo, na nakalilikha ng usok, ang nagtataglay ng “toxic chemicals at carcinogens.”

Sinabi ni Dr. Peter Harper, consultant medical oncologist sa Guy’s and St. Thomas Hospital sa London at chairman ng Toulouse Cancer Centre sa France, na habang ang mga tao ay naninigarilyo para sa nicotine, namamatay naman ang mga ito mula sa pagsusunog ng tobacco ng mahigit sa 350°C.

“The combustion of tobacco generates smoke and ash containing a toxic mix of chemicals that causes serious health effects, including fatal lung diseases and cancer,” wika ni Dr. Harper, sumulat ng mahigit sa “400 papers at chapters” sa peer-reviewed publications at kinilala naman sa buong mundo para sa kanyang gawa sa pagsasaliksik sa bagong droga at pagdebelop ng “improved forms” ng cancer treatment.

Sinabi naman ni Dr. David Khayat, professor ng Oncology sa Pierre et Marie Curie University at pinuno ng Medical Oncology at La Pitié-Salpétrière Hospital, parehong sa Paris, na ang nicotine ay hindi nagiging sanhi ng cancer.

“Doctors even prescribe nicotine replacement therapy [NRT] to help smokers quit. Exposure to the carcinogens present in the smoke of combustible cigarette is what causes cancer. There is a dose-response relationship – the greater the exposure to a carcinogen, the higher the risk to develop cancer,” ayon kay Dr. Khayat, isa ring adjunct professor sa MD Anderson Cancer Center sa Houston, Texas.

“Tobacco harm reduction can help smokers lessen their exposure to carcinogens,” ayon kapuwa sa dalawang eksperto.

Kabilang naman sa THR ang paggamit ng innovative smoke-free at less-harmful nicotine delivery devices gaya ng e-cigarettes (vapes) at heated tobacco products.

Ito ay isang public health strategy na naglalayong magbigay ng smoke-free alternatives para bawasan ang peligrong dulot ng paninigarilyo at magbigay ng nikotina sa mga tao na hindi pwede o ayaw tumigil sa paninigarilyo o mayroong “approved methods.”

Tinuran pa rin nina Dr. Harper at Dr. Khayat na sa Pilipinas, pinagtibay ng Kongreso noong Hulyo 2022 ang Vape para i-regulate ang “importation, manufacture, sale, packaging, distribution, use and communication of vapes and heated tobacco products.”

Mahigit naman sa 14 milyong Filipino adults ang itinuturing na smokers, ito ang makikita sa resulta ng 2021 Global Adult Tobacco Survey.

Natuklasan din na ang Pilipinas ay may 3.9% smoking quit rate, sumasalamin sa “ineffectiveness” ng kasalukuyang naaprubahan o pinagtibay na smoking cessation strategies gaya ng “quitting cold turkey” at NRT.

“Heated tobacco products heat tobacco to a lower temperature of less than 350°C, ensuring combustion does not occur while delivering nicotine to the user. Because there is no combustion, heated tobacco products have 95% less harmful chemicals compared to cigarettes,” ayon kay Dr. Harper.

Sinabi pa ni Dr. Khayat na “HTPs deliver the same nicotine peak delivered by combustible cigarettes, so heated tobacco product users get the nicotine fix they are looking for.”

“However, nicotine is not the only factor in addiction to tobacco; there is also the so-called ‘smoking ritual’ where the smoker lights the cigarette, puts it in their mouth, puffs on it, and so on. Heated tobacco products provide the same ritual involved in combustible cigarettes, which is why there has been a rapid uptake of heated tobacco products among former smokers, particularly in Japan,” ang pahayag pa rin ni Dr. Khayat.

Sa kabilang dako, “Japan has the highest prevalence of heated tobacco use and is the country where heated tobacco products have captured the highest share of the tobacco market,” ayon namn sa ginawang pananaliksik ng Philip Morris International.

Ang “most popular brand” ay IQOS na produkto ng PMI.

Lumabas din sa pananaliksik ng PMI na ang paggamit ng heated tobacco sa Japan ay nataon naman sa mabilis na pagbaba ng sales o benta ng namamayani na “combustible tobacco categories, cigarettes at cigarillos.”

Sinasabing sa lahat ng brands, naabot ng heated tobacco products ang mahigit sa “one third” ng kabuuang tobacco market noong 2021.

Makikita naman sa Japanese National Health and Nutrition Survey (NHNS) na ang matinding paghina ng adult cigarette smoking ay nangyari kasunod ng introduction o pagpapakilala sa heated tobacco products.

Habang 20% ng adults na napaulat na naninigarilyo kada araw o ilang araw noong 2014 (bago pa ipakilala ang heated tobacco products), ang “smoking prevalence” ay bumaba ng 13% noong 2019.

Makikita rin sa survey na ang napakalaking mayorya ng heated tobacco users ay pumalo sa 76% noong 2019, hindi nag-report ng kahit na anumang cigarette smoking.

Sa ulat, Hulyo 2020, pinahintulutan ng U.S. Food and Drug Administration ang marketing ng IQOS bilang modified risk tobacco products, gawing “first tobacco product” ang IQOS na makatatanggap ng “exposure modification” orders mula sa ahensya.

“Exposure modification orders permit the marketing of a product as containing a reduced level of or presenting a reduced exposure to a substance or as being free of a substance when the issuance of the order is expected to benefit the health of the population,” ayon sa ulat.

Samantala, kinumpirma at bineripika ng US FDA ang available na ebidensya ukol sa IQOS at inaprubahan ang mga sumusunod na impormasyon: “The IQOS system heats tobacco but does not burn it. This significantly reduces the production of harmful and potentially harmful chemicals. Scientific studies have shown that switching completely from conventional cigarettes to the IQOS system significantly reduces your body’s exposure to harmful or potentially harmful chemicals.” RNT