Dear HIFA colleagues,
My mother just called me to say a friend of the family had a stroke a few days ago. He is critically ill in an induced coma. He was a heavy smoker and he is 47 years old.
'Smoking tobacco increases your risk of having a stroke. Someone who smokes 20 cigarettes a day is six times more likely to have a stroke compared to a non-smoker. If you are a smoker, quitting will reduce your risk of stroke and a range of other diseases.' https://www.world-stroke.org/assets/downloads/STROKE_RISK_AND_PREVENTION...
How many smokers know this? I have found a study from China that shows 85% of Chinese smokers do NOT know that smoking is associated with an increased risk of stroke [1]. Another study from Spain and Hungary found that less than 60% of the smokers were aware of the risk of active smoking for stroke [2]. A third study from the US found that 65% did not know that smoking is a risk factor for stroke. [3]
It is tragic to think that our friend was probably unaware that his smoking habit meant that he had a greatly increased risk of stroke as compared with non-smokers.
How can the risks of smoking be better communicated to smokers (and to everyone)?
[1] https://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/19/Suppl_2/i18
[2] http://www.tobaccoinduceddiseases.org/Knowledge-of-the-health-risks-of-s...
[3] https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/187464
HIFA profile: Neil Pakenham-Walsh is coordinator of HIFA (Healthcare Information For All), a global health community that brings all stakeholders together around the shared goal of universal access to reliable healthcare information. HIFA has 20,000 members in 180 countries, interacting in four languages and representing all parts of the global evidence ecosystem. HIFA is administered by Global Healthcare Information Network, a UK-based nonprofit in official relations with the World Health Organization. Email: neil@hifa.org
