Ramadhan as an Opportunity to Stop Smoking

Jakarta (ANTARA) – Prof. Tjandra Yoga Aditama, head of the board of honour of the Indonesian Pulmonologists Association (PDPI), has recommended that Indonesians use the momentum of fasting in the holy month of Ramadhan to break their smoking habit.

“Smokers who are fasting will stop smoking from dawn (sahur) until breaking the fast (berbuka). The general public should take advantage of this year’s holy month of Ramadhan to stop smoking completely,” said Prof. Tjandra in a written statement confirmed on Tuesday.

According to the former director of communicable diseases for WHO Southeast Asia, there are several important points about quitting smoking during Ramadhan, including that cigarette smoke contains thousands of types of chemical compounds.

Cigarette smoke causes disruption to others. Therefore, during fasting worship, each individual should not cause disturbance to their fellow believers.

Furthermore, during the holy month of Ramadhan, smokers already refrain from smoking from dawn until breaking the fast, and this non-smoking habit should be continued until the next dawn.

According to him, it is a misconception that smokers cannot carry out activities without smoking. During the fasting month, smokers have proven they can remain active from morning until evening without cigarettes.

“This means it is simply untrue to say that one must smoke before being able to work. The actual experience during the fasting month proves the opposite,” said the Adjunct Professor at Griffith University.

When breaking the fast, one should consume nutritious food rather than immediately smoking. He added that the practice of not smoking can be continued on days after Ramadhan.

This is because it has already been proven that smokers can continue to carry out their activities well from morning until evening, meaning that cigarette addiction can actually be controlled.

“Quitting smoking in Ramadhan will bring benefits to health, quality of life, and the environment,” said the former director-general of disease control and the head of the research and development centre at the Health Ministry.