Health experts on Tuesday revealed that the Philippines has the “highest incidence of smoking” among Asian youth. This has led to the rise of cardiovascular diseases and cases of young people suffering heart attacks and strokes.
Philippine Heart Association (PHA) President Dr. Saturnino Javier noted that patients who suffer heart attacks and stroke are getting younger. He stressed that smoking is the most common risk factor for the condition.
Case in point is a 17-year old male patient at the Makati Medical Center who is being treated for “severe blockage in the heart.”
Javier adds that heart attacks in patients in their 30s and 40s is no longer shocking to heart doctors. He explained that cardiovascular diseases among young people became more prominent in the last decade when the number of young smokers increased dramatically.
Dr. Anthony Leachon, a consultant for non-communicable diseases at the Department of Health cited that Filipinos have the most number of young smokers in Asia.
“For the 13- to 15-year old age group, we have the highest in Asia. Seventeen percent for girls and 28 percent for boys,” Interaksyon.com quoted Leachon.
Experts warned that the trend would continue given the number of young smokers in the country.
