THE Philippine College of Chest Physicians (PCCP) is appealing to the public, including medical professionals, to avoid condemning cigarette smokers who want to quit but have yet to be successful.
In an online media forum last week held by the Department of Health (DOH), Dr. Maria Lowella de Leon of the PCCP said condemning cigarette smokers who have yet to totally quit is not helping in attaining their ultimate goal.
“We shouldn’t condemn smokers looking to quit. We must always be here to support them (in their desire to quit),” said De Leon.
“Even for health workers in smoking cessation clinics, we should not condemn them (smokers). Every time they don’t show up and then come back later on, we must still welcome them because that is what they need, somebody to listen to them,” she added.
De Leon said this is because being condemned is actually the biggest fear of smokers looking to quit.
“The fear of these patients is being condemned and being hurt if they feel that there is no one ready to listen to them,” she said.
She advised smokers trying to quit smoking to persist in doing so.
She said this is because quitting smoking is not easy and requires hard work.
“Learn to support yourself. If you make the mistake of going back to smoking, try again.
Try and try until you succeed,” she said.
“If we don’t acknowledge our vulnerabilities, we won’t be able to achieve our goal,” added de Leon.
She said they should also not be afraid to seek professional support to quit smoking, adding addiction sometimes requires medical intervention.
“Through the help of doctors or your support system, you can eventually achieve your goal,” said de Leon.
Based on the 2021 Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS), the Philippines’ tobacco smoking prevalence has significantly decreased from 22.7 percent in 2015 to 18.5 percent in 2021.
