‘Doctor thought I was a smoker’ – Housewife suffers chronic asthma due to secondhand smoke
She said her health has often been unstable due to exposure to cigarette smoke, as her late father and brother were heavy smokers.
SHAH ALAM – “I still remember the doctor repeatedly asking me, ‘Do you smoke?’ Only then did I understand the question, because the doctor assumed I was a smoker due to the condition of my damaged lungs.”
Those were the heartbreaking words of housewife Nor Azura Rasid, 33, as she recounted her suffering as a passive smoker and chronic asthma patient since childhood due to hereditary factors.
She said her health has often been unstable due to exposure to cigarette smoke, as her late father and brother were heavy smokers.
In fact, both of her loved ones passed away from heart attacks.
“What the Health Ministry (MOH) said is true, smoking can cause heart attacks.
“The effects of cigarette smoke have a very serious impact on health,” she said.
Her suffering began in 2012 when she had to be admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) due to a severe asthma attack.
However, after receiving specialist treatment at Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital in Klang, her health gradually improved.
“Previously, I would be out of breath just climbing the stairs at school, but now I can jog nearly seven kilometres without using an inhaler,” she added.
Azura now considers cigarettes her number one enemy and is determined to avoid high-risk areas such as night markets, as well as choosing a non-smoking partner.
“I haven’t gone to night markets for three years because those places are the easiest to be exposed to cigarette smoke.
“As someone with chronic asthma, I know many people out there want smoke-free public spaces and I hope that one day it will become a reality,” she said.
Unwilling to see others suffer the same fate, she is now actively using social media platforms like Threads to raise awareness about the dangers of secondhand smoke, despite previously facing heavy criticism from some netizens on Facebook.
“I hope more people become aware of the effects of cigarette smoke on both smokers and those around them.
“That includes more people speaking up, whether on social media or in no-smoking areas, to call out those who violate the rules,” she said.
Download Sinar Daily application.Click Here!
