BATCH 10 AIMST: Adolescent health

The Kota Setar District is very active in Prostar. The ministry of health had introduced PROSTAR with the aim to:-
1. To improve knowledge on HIV/AIDS and its relation to teenagers.
2. To organize effective communication training
3. To promote healthy lifestyle to prevent risk of getting HIV infection.
4. To train students to organize programme for PROSTAR.
5. To produce a generation that is responsible to themselves, and the society.
6. To produce a balanced individual in terms of physical, mental and spiritual.
7. To pass on leadership skill to the students
Prostar will be further discusses in detail under Health promotion topic(for Kota Setar).

Moreover, in Klinik Kesihatan Bandar Kota setar, there is a quit-smoking clinic.

The Quit smoking clinic is governed by the disease control division specifically under the tobacco control unit. This clinic is headed by one doctor which is Dr. Hanisah under the guidance of 1 Family Medicine Specialist, Dr. Baizury. She is a Medical officer working at the Klinik Kesihatan Bandar Alor Star. Under her, she is assisted by a nurse. The clinic will be open every Thursday from 8am till 5 pm. The clinic is located near the blood taking room.

There are 311 health clinic and hospitals in Malaysia offering this Quit smoking clinic. The clinic is actually a facility provided at hospitals and health clinics to help smokers quit smoking using techniques which have been proven to be effective that is through behavior modifications and value replacement therapy (Nicotine Replacement Therapy). The objectives are to provide knowledge and skills for smokers to help them to quit smoking. The clinic also provide treatment and rehabilitation to smokers who intend to quit smoking besides providing awareness to smokers regarding the dangers of smoking

However, the quit smoking clinic has became inactive in recent years due to several problems. Those problems are such as:

1. The clinic is not given enough budgets to buy nicotine replacement therapy for those smokers who wish to quit smoking.

2. Now the clinic is no more providing nicotine replacement therapy for its patient.

3. Those patients who come to the clinic are mostly from the rural areas and they find it difficult to follow up at KKBAS so one by one dropping out from the clinic itself.

4. The target group is from those who are still deciding whether to quit smoking or not.

Due to its lack of response, the clinic will only be open whenever there is a walk-in case from the OPD. They keep the records of all those patients previously visiting their clinic in a book called Quit smoking record book.

THE ANTI-SMOKING OPERATION
Date: 14 July 2009
Time: 8.30pm -12am
Venue: Kota Star
The operation was headed by Mr. Cheang, the head of the Tobacco Control Unit. Together with 2 policemen, PPKPs and PRA of about 36 members and including 12 of us, we went for a thrilling operation in 4 vans and 1 MPV. We are given a short briefing on what they will be doing at the premises which we are going to and telling us that we should just observe their work and the procedure of giving ‘Kompaun’ to those who were caught during the operation. They will look out for those who are under the age of 18 smoking and those smoking in non-smoking premises regardless of their age. However, this operation is accompanied by two policemen. After getting up in our vehicles, we were brought to a snooker centre where we saw an underage guy being caught smoking inside the premise. They are only allowed to catch them red handed by holding them first and took their cigarette from their hand or mouth and put it into a bottle, seal it and given label. The person’s identity card was asked and their details are taken. A ‘kompaun’ with deadline given to that person before legal actions are taken on them. The ‘Kompaun’ cost RM300 but the value can be reduced if they pay it earlier. After that, we were brought to another snooker centre. However no arrest was made despite the strong odour of cigarette smoke at the center. It was believed that someone from the previous snooker centre might have informed them about the operation. In addition to that, the snooker centre was also equipped with CCTV at the entrance hence providing them an early warning of our presence. The next destination that the team visited was a cyber café. As it is a non-smoking place, those who smoke in the premise will be given a ‘Kompaun’. Besides that, those premises which never display the no-smoking sign will also be given a ‘Kompaun’ by the health officers. The ‘Kompaun’ for this charge is RM500. We can see some of the smokers felt dissatisfied with the health inspector who caught them red handed even though there were signs showing ‘no smoking’ in the premises. We manage to see some interesting dramas but in the end those smokers still showing respects to the officers. The operation ends at about 11.30pm and we were sent back to the District Health Office.