00:00 Today is May 31, World No Tobacco Day.
00:04 This is the first event where we are advocating to avoid tobacco and to stop the use of gun
00:10 to take care of our health.
00:12 But before we go into that discussion, let's watch this first.
00:16 In the Philippines, 15% of Filipinos use tobacco.
00:24 And more than 112,000 Filipinos die from tobacco-related diseases yearly.
00:31 According to studies, the use of tobacco is the leading cause of preventable death
00:37 and kills more than 5 million people worldwide.
00:43 As one of the reasons for this growing problem that is causing a lot of deaths in the country,
00:49 the World Health Organization declared World No Tobacco Day in 1987
00:55 and it was postponed to May 31, 1988.
00:59 Its goal is to give attention to the use of tobacco and preventable diseases related to it.
01:05 Let's talk about it here in SeneDoc.
01:09 Before we continue, we will interview Dr. Alejandro Diaz,
01:15 a professor and consultant neurologist, to guide us in talking about smoking
01:20 and its connection to hypertension and stroke.
01:23 Good morning, Doc.
01:25 Hi, good morning to you all. Good morning, everyone.
01:30 Good morning, Doc. This is Meiji Enrod.
01:33 What are some of the bad effects of smoking in our body, especially in our organs?
01:41 Okay, so most people know that chronic smoking is bad for the heart and lungs.
01:49 But I think what I'm trying to say is that it's also bad for the brain,
01:55 especially for mental health as well as it can lead to stroke and dementia,
02:03 even Alzheimer's disease.
02:06 Because of its association with the blood vessels, the roots of our brain,
02:11 it can cause damage to the lining of the roots that supply blood to the brain.
02:18 Doc, you mentioned that it has an effect on the heart, the lungs, and even the brain.
02:25 What about cigarettes?
02:27 Do all of our internal organs have an effect, especially if we use cigarettes for a long time?
02:36 Yes.
02:38 When a person is experimenting with smoking,
02:42 for example, if they have a blood pressure device,
02:46 after smoking, maybe 30 minutes after,
02:52 you can see that the blood pressure rises, the systolic blood pressure.
02:56 Because the roots are shrinking.
02:58 So if you do that chronically,
03:01 the systolic blood pressure is changing, the roots are shrinking,
03:07 the supply of blood to the organs will be damaged.
03:11 But we know that there are many other contents,
03:15 let's say, not good or deleterious contents of tobacco or cigarette smoking,
03:24 that can lead to other diseases like cancer, etc.
03:29 Basically, we focus on what effect it has with regards to blood pressure,
03:36 hypertension, and what is its connection to the brain, for example.
03:40 And as I said, many people know that even in strokes and hypertension,
03:48 smoking is a very important risk factor.
03:51 What's new now is mental health.
03:53 Because we still have to deal with stress, tension, and relaxation.
03:59 Maybe that's in the short term, but eventually, if one gets addicted to smoking,
04:04 the blood supply of the organs will be damaged.
04:10 Doc, it's good that you mentioned that.
04:13 Smoking can lead to hypertension and stroke.
04:17 But the other effect of smoking is mental health.
04:21 There are many problems that are happening in the mental health sector.
04:27 And smoking is one of the causes of it.
04:30 Risk factor.
04:33 The risk factor for ARNF.
04:36 What is the connection of smoking to stroke?
04:44 Yes.
04:46 Smoking can help someone who is at risk of developing hypertension or high blood pressure
04:55 to a more accelerated increase or start of blood pressure changes leading to hypertension.
05:04 For example, teenagers are still smoking.
05:10 And there are still many of us, despite World Tobacco Day celebration,
05:15 we held a promulgation.
05:17 I think it was Republic Act 9211.
05:21 Despite that, there are still many people who are addicted to smoking.
05:26 Of course, they still know that they don't feel anything.
05:30 But the blood pressure is slowly increasing.
05:34 Even without smoking, in many individuals,
05:39 if you are addicted, it will be accelerated.
05:43 The problem is that high blood pressure is not felt.
05:47 Contrary to what they say,
05:50 many believe that they don't feel anything,
05:53 so they don't have high blood pressure.
05:55 The blood pressure is increasing slowly.
05:59 As years pass,
06:01 18-19 years old, the blood pressure increases.
06:05 That's why they develop hypertension without even knowing it.
06:08 That's why this May,
06:11 we are celebrating World Tobacco Day,
06:16 but this month is actually the Hypertension Awareness Month.
06:19 We want to spread it to the Philippines.
06:23 If you are 18 years old,
06:26 have your blood pressure checked.
06:29 You should know your blood pressure.
06:33 Sometimes, some people are surprised why they are still young.
06:37 It's because they have high blood pressure
06:40 that they don't know because they don't have it checked.
06:44 So, if you check that you have hypertension,
06:46 the blood pressure will slowly increase.
06:48 So, important lifestyle changes,
06:51 like quitting smoking,
06:56 doing a better healthy lifestyle,
06:59 exercise, diet, lower salt,
07:02 and the rest can lead to lower blood pressure.
07:07 If you can't control it,
07:09 don't forget to consult a doctor
07:11 for advice on how to start
07:14 to keep your blood pressure low at a normal level.
07:17 Doc, since we are talking about hypertension,
07:20 the next thing we are going to talk about is the possibility of having a stroke.
07:23 What is the connection between these two?
07:25 You mentioned earlier that if you don't have hypertension,
07:28 and you are smoking,
07:30 you might develop this.
07:31 And for people who have hypertension,
07:35 will it be more dangerous and can cause or lead to this stroke?
07:40 Yes.
07:42 So, first of all,
07:45 let's define what hypertension is.
07:47 What is hypertension?
07:49 Hypertension means
07:51 prolonged high blood pressure.
07:55 It means that in the clinic,
07:58 the doctor is at least 140/90 and above.
08:03 If the blood pressure is measured at home,
08:06 at least 135/85 and above.
08:10 So, if you are always doing this, morning, afternoon, evening,
08:15 and you are raising your blood pressure,
08:17 it is not because of artificial blood pressure,
08:20 but because you are exercising,
08:22 you are running,
08:23 so that is an indication that you have a high blood pressure.
08:29 So, it is very important to control it,
08:32 because if it is not controlled over time,
08:35 the lining of the veins and the blood vessels will be damaged.
08:38 Not only in the brain, but also in the kidneys and heart.
08:41 So, that can lead to heart disease,
08:43 heart failure, acute coronary syndromes,
08:47 and then in the kidney, it can lead to chronic kidney disease,
08:52 chronic renal failure.
08:54 There are many negative effects of paninigarilio.
08:57 Doc, lastly, what are your programs and activities in the world to know about tobacco day?
09:04 And a message to those who are taking painkillers?
09:06 And also, maybe an encouragement to those who really want to quit,
09:10 but they cannot stop taking painkillers.
09:14 Yes. I think it is important that if one is decided to quit smoking,
09:21 remember that it is not easy,
09:24 but it takes around at least two weeks.
09:26 When you quit anything, or even on your cell phone,
09:30 if you are addicted to your cell phone,
09:32 you are always unable to leave, that is why many people have overthinking anxiety,
09:37 because it is always there.
09:38 It takes two weeks to detox.
09:40 So, that is also smoking.
09:42 If you think you want to really quit smoking,
09:45 you should not see the paninigarilio,
09:47 you should not go to your friends,
09:49 you should just taste it a little bit,
09:52 and then the brain will eventually change.
09:55 We have receptors there that will change it,
10:00 but you will not find the urge to quit smoking.
10:05 So, that is a very important guide that I tell to my patients,
10:10 that you can quit smoking.
10:13 Because sometimes,
10:15 if you are already stroked,
10:17 and they suddenly stop smoking,
10:19 or you can quit smoking, but you are already stroked,
10:21 should I wait for your organs to get damaged,
10:24 or heart attack, or kidney disease,
10:27 before you stop smoking?
10:29 While you are still young, while you are still healthy,
10:31 quit smoking.
10:33 So, I hope that education through your media,
10:38 and social media, and other things,
10:40 can help us to realize that it is about time to quit smoking,
10:46 because of its very deteriorating effects in many organs of our body.
10:52 Alright, I hope that the two-week detox is applicable to everyone.
10:56 Prevention is better than cure.
10:58 That's right.
10:59 As early as possible.
11:01 And don't try it.
11:03 If you haven't tried it yet, don't.
11:05 It's bad.
11:06 Thank you very much, Dr. Alejandro Diaz,
11:10 for taking the time to be on our show and answering our questions.
11:14 Have a nice day.
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