Page 38 - TAIWAN TOBACCO CONTROL ANNUAL REPORT 2019

Since pets cannot choose their owner and their living environment, and there is no safe level of exposure to second and third hand smoke, we encourage smoke addicts to make good use of the free tobacco quit line or contact the smoking cessation services of the local health departments and medical institutions (hospitals, clinics and pharmacies) to quit smoking through professional, safe and effective methods in order to not only care for their pets and their families, but also get back their own health. ◎ Press conference of the film "Smoke Free! Let's Quit! Benefits of Smoke-Free Homes" World No-Tobacco Day Smoking is the second most important risk factor for cardiovascular disease, and 12% of deaths from heart disease are caused by smoking, second only to hypertension. With that, the theme for World No Tobacco Day on May 31, 2018 is designated as "Tobacco Products and Cardiovascular Disease" by the World Health Organization (WHO), in the hopes of improving public awareness on the effects of cigarette smoking on cardiovascular health, and calling upon the governments to actively create a smoke-free environment, provide smoking cessation services, enact laws to ban advertisements of tobacco companies, as well as enforce policies such as promotions, sponsorships, and raising tobacco prices, in order to protect people from tobacco hazards and maintain cardiovascular health. "Smoking Harms the Heart - Quit Smoking to Save the Heart" Many people believe that smoking will not affect your health if you have a little less every day. This is actually a wrong concept! Relevant studies discovered that even if you smoke only one cigarette per day, the risk of coronary heart disease is 50% (48% for men and 57% for women) higher than that of non-smokers, with 20% (25% for men, 31% for women) higher risk of having a stroke, With no "safe" amount of smoking, only smoking cessation can really reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. Compared with non-smokers, the risk of death may drop by 36% for patients with coronary heart disease if they gave up smoking. In order to reduce harm of smoking to heart health, the cardiology department of each hospital have participated in smoking cessation services to provide professional assistance for smokers to quit smoking. 36