A Review of Smoking Research In Malaysia - e-mjm.org

1 Med J Malaysia Vol 71 Supplement 1 June 201629 ABSTRACTTwo hundred and seventy one original published materialsrelated to tobacco use were found in a search through adatabase dedicated to indexing all original data relevant toMedicine and Health in Malaysia from 1996 - 2015. A total of147 papers were selected and reviewed on the basis of theirrelevance and implications for future Research . Findingswere summarised, categorised and presented according toepidemiology, behaviour, clinical features and managementof Smoking . Most studies are cross-sectional with smallsample sizes.

2 Studies on Smoking initiation and prevalenceshowed mixed findings with many small scale studies withinthe sub-groups. The majority of the studies were related tofactors that contribute to initiation in , there are limited studies on interventionstrategies to curb Smoking among this group. There is alack of clinical studies to analyse tobacco use and majorhealth problems in Malaysia . In addition, studies on the besttreatment modalities on the use of pharmacotherapy andbehavioural counselling have also remained why smokers do not seek clinic help to quitsmoking need further exploration.

3 A finding on the extent ofeffort carried out by healthcare providers in assistingsmokers to make quit attempts is not known. Studies oneconomic and government initiatives on policies andtobacco use focus mainly on the effects of cigarette bans,increased cigarettes taxes and the influence of the tobaccoindustry. Recommendations are given for the government toincrease efforts in implementing smoke-free legislation,early and tailored interventions. Clinical studies in this areaare lacking, as are opportunities to Research on ways toreduce Smoking initiation age and the most effective quitsmoking WORDS: Smoking , Review , Malaysia , Risk Factors, Initiation, CessationINTRODUCTIONS tudies on Smoking related material were reviewed to coverepidemiology, behaviour, clinical features and managementof Smoking .

4 We conducted an extensive literature search in adatabase dedicated to indexing all original data relevant toMedicine and Health in Malaysia from 1996 to 2015 usingthe medical subheadings MeSH Smoking ; Tobacco Use;Tobacco Smoke Pollution; Tobacco Use Cessation; TobaccoUse Disorder; Smoking Risk Factors; Smoking Initiation; Smoking Cessation, Malaysia .Of these, we initially reviewed 259 articles, 8 reviews, 4theses, 4 books and 2 case studies. A total of 147 papers wereselected and reviewed on the basis of their clinical relevanceand implications for future Research .

5 In this Review , all types of studies were considered includingjournals articles, conference proceeding, guidelines andreports, single case studies, case series reports and study design for most articles that were reviewed wascross-sectional using questionnaire survey targetingadolescents at schools and university students. A significantfew were follow-up studies, intervention and populationstudies and smokers from specific groups (female smokers,health staff, civil servants, etc.)

6 As well as smokers attendingquit Smoking clinics. This Review aims to examine the published studies conductedin Malaysia from 1996 to 2015. It is expected to provide anoverview of Research interest, its contribution to currentpractices and identify gaps in Smoking Research in 1: Review OF LITERATUREEPIDEMIOLOGYS moking PrevalenceIn Children and AdolescentsIn Malaysia , there are 5 million smokers who are classified aschildren or adolescents younger than 18 years old as of 2015, 1 in 10 Malaysians in the 13 to 17 year old agegroup were prevalence of cigarette smokingamong male secondary school children was who werecurrent smokers3or within the ranges to.

7 4with amale to female proportion of to isconsistent with the highest prevalence of Smoking foundamong schoolboys from the vocational alongitudinal knowledge, attitude and practices study amongform 5 students over 1 year, the prevalence decreased to after a The prevalence of Smoking among secondary school studentsin Sarawak is although the majority ( ) did notsmoke on a daily prevalence of Smoking among Form 6 students in the Petaling District, a study among primary school children in Tumpat,Kelantan, the reported Smoking prevalence was Ofthese, were current a study of 190A Review of Smoking Research In MalaysiaWee Lei Hum, PhD1, Caryn Chan Mei Hsien, PhD1, Yogarabindranath Swarna Nantha, MRCGP21 School of Healthcare Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, UniversitiKebangsaan Malaysia .

8 Jalan Raja MudaAbdul Aziz, 50300 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia , 2 StateDepartment of Health, Ministry of Health Malaysia , 70300 Seremban, Negeri Sembilan, Author: J Malaysia Vol 71 Supplement 1 June 2016secondary four male school students from three schools inKota Bharu, 57 ( ) students were current smokers, 45( ) students were ex-smokers and 88 ( ) reportednever Smoking prevalence of smokingwas amongst Malay adolescents in Kota prevalence of future intention to smoke amongadolescents current smokers was estimatedprevalence of self-reported cigarette Smoking among privateuniversity students was to ,15 Smoking prevalence among lower secondary students ofschools located in the Federal Land Development Authority(FELDA) settlement areas ( ) was two-fold higher thanin the rural and town schools combined ( )

9 16andconfirmed by other ,17 This situation will contribute tohigh Smoking -related health problems in the future if properpreventive measures are not taken AdultsThe prevalence of current Smoking among adult males in2006, in Malaysia is (95% CI: ), which lower than a decade prevalence of currentsmoking among both male and female Malaysian adultsaged 15 years and above is ,19,20and is highest in thoseaged 21-30 years has been several series onnationwide surveys in Malaysia , starting with the NationalHealth and Morbidity Survey in 1986 (NHMS I), NHMS II in1996 and NHMS III in 2006.

10 Due to differences in workingdefinitions used in these surveys, trends of tobacco use wasnot formulated. However between NHMS II (1996) and NHMSIII (2006), the prevalence of adult current smokers aged 18years and above declined from to of Smoking remained at around 25% from 2011 to2015 (One in two males were smokers).2In the ElderlyThe prevalence of Smoking amongst the elderly (60 andabove) was Smoking is highly prevalent ( )among elderly males in Malaysia and is higher compared tothe United States ( ) and China ( ).