Free Health Checks Can Lower The Number Of Smokers In Indonesia?

A number of residents carried out health checks before participating in the screening of the badax X-ray during the mobile service for the detection of Tuberculosis in Karnang Village, Banten. (ANTARA)

Quitting smoking is an important step to maintain lung health and prevent serious illness. The Free Health Check (CKG) program which includes lung health screening can help people realize the risk of smoking and encourage them to quit.

Professor of Pulmonology and Medicine of FKUI's Respiration, Prof. Agus Dwi Susanto, said that many smokers stopped after learning about lung disease through screening. "Generally smokers will stop smoking after knowing that there are lung diseases suffered when discrining," he said.

According to Prof. Agus, lung screening can detect lung disorders through various methods, such as questionnaires, X-rays, and sparometry. However, he stressed that stopped smoking therapy with the guidance of a lung specialist is needed for those with addiction.

In addition, Prof. Agus highlighted smoking is the main risk factor for five major lung diseases: pneumonia, tuberculosis, lung cancer, COPD, and asthma. Therefore, he recommends the public, especially smokers, to undergo regular lung screening as a crucial preventive measure.

The CKG program is expected not only to increase health awareness but also to motivate the public to stop smoking for a better quality of life.