SINGAPORE'S No Tobacco Day activities this year will target the young as advocates for a smoke-free lifestyle.
This is in line with the World Health Organisation (WHO)'s theme of 'Tobacco Free Youth' for World No Tobacco Day (WNTD) which falls on May 31.
To mark the global event, the Health Promotion Board (HPB) will hold a Youth Against Tobacco workshop here for young people from China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Australia and Singapore, on May 28 and 29.
A Student Health Survey carried out in 2006 showed that the proportion of youth who smoked at least one cigarette a day in the last 30 days had fallen from from 11 per cent to 9 per cent from the study done in 2000.
This means that Singapore may be one of the countries with the lowest youth smoking rates in the region, said the HPB.
The 2006 survey also showed that 95 per cent of youth smokers had close friends who smoked, against only only 42 per cent of non-smokers with close friends who were smokers.
Message for adults
The message for the adults is to raise awareness of the debilitating effects of Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (Cold) due to smoking.
Cold is a serious lung disease that, over time, makes it hard to breathe. Shortness of breath and other symptoms of Cold can get in the way of doing even the most basic tasks, such as taking a walk, bathing and getting dressed.
Cold is an incurable disease that gets progressively worse. More than 90 per cent of Cold cases are caused by smoking.
WHO predicts that Cold will become the fourth leading cause of death worldwide by 2030. In Singapore, it is estimated that more than 60,000 people suffer from Cold.
To help drive home the message, ex-smoker Yap Seng Khoon, who has been suffering Cold for the past 20 years,will share his real life experience in quitting smoking through multimedia advertisements and on-ground activities in the community, workplaces and healthcare institutions.
A series of six community roadshows will be organised at selected heartland areas to provide the public with information about Cold. They can also get free health screening and quit smoking advice from professional quit advisors.
