Mr. T. is frequently hospitalized due to acute COPD attacks. Photo: B.Nhan |
“Hospital is home!”
Breathing laboredly and having to struggle to breathe, Mr. TCT, 78 years old, residing in Long Thanh district, had to be hospitalized at Shing Mark University of Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital for emergency treatment. He had suffered from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) for over 10 years and had been smoking cigarettes and tobacco since his youth. It is worth mentioning that this was not the first time he had been hospitalized with this condition.
Mr. T's family said that every year, Mr. T. has to be hospitalized at least 5 times, each time lasting about half a month.
“Every time he showed signs of difficulty breathing, my family took him to the emergency room. For more than ten years, he had suffered from COPD, and for that many years, my family took him to the hospital frequently because of acute illness, especially when the weather changed,” said Mr. Tuan Phat, Mr. T.’s nephew.
COPD patients like Mr. T. are not uncommon in hospitals. The more COPD patients are hospitalized, the higher the rate of severe illness and death. Doctor Le Thi Thu Ha, Head of the Respiratory Department, Dong Nai General Hospital, said that the department has 60 patients with respiratory diseases being treated in the department, of which COPD patients account for half.
Dr. Ha added: “Up to 85% of COPD patients in the department are smokers. Many patients have to be hospitalized frequently due to complications of the disease. We also receive a group of patients who are in severe condition, often have difficulty breathing, respiratory failure, so they are transferred to the hospital for long-term monitoring, considering “the hospital as home”.
According to Dr. Nguyen To Nhu, a respiratory specialist at Shing Mark University of Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital, most COPD patients are related to smoking. On average, a COPD patient has 1.5-2.5 acute attacks per year. Most cases require hospitalization for 1-2 weeks. When the weather changes erratically, COPD patients need to be careful with increased shortness of breath, increased coughing, and increased phlegm.
“COPD attacks are especially severe when accompanied by pneumonia, which increases the rate of patients with respiratory failure, requiring mechanical ventilation, high mortality rates, and more expensive treatment costs,” Dr. Nhu emphasized.
Not only traditional cigarettes, electronic cigarettes are also harmful
In addition to traditional cigarettes and tobacco, in recent years, electronic cigarettes have been advertised as a safe alternative to regular cigarettes. However, studies have shown many serious health effects of electronic cigarettes.
From 2025, Vietnam will officially ban the production, trading, import, storage, transportation and use of electronic cigarettes, heated tobacco products, gases and addictive substances that are harmful to human health.
Specialist II Doctor Luu Van Dung, Deputy Director of the Department of Health , said that in order for these tobacco products to be consumed, they must offer attractive features such as increasing "trendiness" among young people or advertising them as "less harmful" than traditional cigarettes.
“Young people, although half-believing, half-doubting, but because of the attractive advertisements, often use it ‘just for the experience’ and become addicted without realizing it. Therefore, according to statistics from the World Health Organization, tobacco use among young people is quite common. From there, WHO has issued recommendations and the theme ‘Exposing the false appeal’ this year,” Dr. Dung shared.
According to Dr. Dung, new generation tobacco products are increasingly attracting young people through sophisticated advertising, making many people believe that cigarettes help them relax. However, the truth is that nicotine only brings a temporary feeling of relaxation, then increases stress and causes addiction. Moreover, e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products are both unsafe, still contain toxic substances, causing serious damage to the lungs, cardiovascular system and many other organs.
Therefore, hospitals have also increased propaganda work on the harmful effects of tobacco. Specialist Doctor II Nguyen Quoc Thanh, Head of the Department of Internal Medicine and Neurology, Long Khanh Regional General Hospital, added: during the examination and treatment process, doctors and nurses regularly directly propagate and warn patients and their families about the harmful effects of tobacco.
Dr. Thanh said: “We always encourage patients with respiratory, cardiovascular, asthma diseases... to give up smoking. In addition, the hospital has established a team to prevent the harmful effects of tobacco at the hospital. The team regularly checks and monitors the hospital canteen to ensure that cigarettes are not sold; patrols and reminds people not to smoke in the hospital...”.
Dr. Thanh believes that not only does it help reduce the risk of disease, the smoke-free hospital model is also an effective measure to create a clean and safe medical examination and treatment environment for medical staff and patients. Thereby, improving the effectiveness of treatment, aiming at patient satisfaction.
Bich Nhan
Source: https://baodongnai.com.vn/tin-moi/202506/thuoc-la-mot-dieu-nhieu-benh-fbf01e8/
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