GEORGE TOWN: Every year, six out of 10 of patients from Penang Hospital's Quit Smoking Clinic will walk out as a non-smokers after their minimum six months treatment.
Every year, the clinic receives 230 new warded patients and 150 walk-in patients.
The hospital's director Datuk Dr Norsidah Ismail said that amongst the two categories, the warded patients proved to be more effective with up to 63 per cent success rate while the walk-in category records 39 per cent of its patients stopped smoking.
"Majority of our patients are warded. We have more time to closely monitor them and at the same time it is much easier for them to quit smoking entirely while being in a non-smoking environment, hence the higher success rate compared to walk-in patients.
"But that does not mean that walk-in customers are not good as well. They do face a greater challenge when they try to quit smoking because of the environment around them but still quite a number of them managed to say no to smoking after our six months treatment," she told newsmen after Quit Smoking Cessation Update 2017 held at the hospital here today.
Once the patients enrolled to the six months treatment, the clinic headed by health education officer Alfian Mohammad Zain, will take note of the smoking history of the patients and will run initial test to record the carbon monoxide level.
In the course of the six months, the clinic will provide intensive consultation and the positive results of the decreased carbon monoxide level will motivate the patience further to stop smoking.
For the first month after completing the six months treatment, the patients will be required to come to the clinic for follow-ups.
After the first month, they will only be called to come back for once in every three months.
"After a year we will hold this special anniversary award day to give away certificate for the quitters. This will help them to feel appreciated and continue to lead a healthy lifestyle minus the smoking," said Alfian.