The Ministry of Health is very much aware of this problem and has been advising the general public, through its many public service programs (Community meetings, printed warnings and advisories, and through the broadcast media) to abandon bad practices or habits that could cause serious health problems and to undergo regular health check-ups at the hospital.
What are some of these health problems that are known to lead directly to untimely deaths? From what we have seen and observed in the Ministry of Health’s programs, it appears that some of the factors that lead directly to untimely deaths are obesity due to consumption of fatty and unhealthy foods and drinks, smoking and chewing of cigarettes, heavy drinking of alcohol, and lack of exercises. What the Ministry of Health say are not difficult to see in our communities. Every one must stay away from these dangerous matters.
I live near one of the busiest intersections in town. Every day I see hundreds of overweight people, both young women and young men, including school children, walking through this intersection or visiting the big stores in the area. It is very distressing to look at young ladies who could be very attractive but are not because their bodies are over-weighted and are bulging through their cloths. Instead of admiring them, an observer could choke to death with anger just by looking at them. To make matters worst, many of these fat young people would be chewing betel nuts or smoking cigarettes as they walk on the streets. To protect their own health, young people should pay particular attention to and comply with the health advisories the Ministry of Health issue regularly throughout the year.
On the matter of smoking cigarettes and chewing betel nuts, I have a personal experience that I would like to share with the young people who still consider these habits as harmless. The use of Tobago is very dangerous and could cost you your life while you are still very young.
I, too, was a very heavy smoker, having started my bad habit when I was still a teen-ager. Fourteen years ago, in 1996, I was driving from Top-side to my home in Meketii when my reckoning with my bad habit caught up with me on the road above Maris Stella School. All of a sudden I felt an overpowering pain in my chest as if somebody had struck my chest with a baseball bat. I lost consciousness and lost control of my car. My car hit the ball field embankment in the area and the impact made me smash my chest on my car’s wheel, which probably saved my life. I regained consciousness and drove home. My wife took me to the hospital where I was told I had suffered a severe hear attack because of my heavy smoking. Two days later, Dr. Stevenson Kuartei flew with me to St.Luke Hospital in Manila where I went through a “four by-pass” heart operation. I was very lucky. I survived and I am still alive today. Other heavy smokers, like many of you young people might not be so lucky.
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