Engaging in the act of smoking. - Studying in KKH discovers elevated tobacco dependency prevalence in Hamburg.
Hamburg is seeing an increase in the number of professional smokers and regular smokers, as per a study published by the Kaufmännische Krankenkasse (KKH) on Wednesday. The health insurance company reported that 75 out of every 1,000 workers in the city received medical treatment in 2022 for issues related to tobacco addiction, withdrawal symptoms, or psychological problems.
On a national level, the average is 81 such cases per 1,000 employees. A decade ago, the figure was 55 out of 1,000 employees, resulting in a 35% rise. Yet, Hamburg has the second-lowest growth among German cities.
Michael Falkenstein, an expert on addiction at the KKH, stressed, "Even one cigarette per day can endanger a smoker's health." The risk of a psychological addiction, respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, and cancer soars with each additional cigarette consumed. E-cigarettes are also considered an addictive substance.
To conduct their research, the KKH analyzed anonymized data from 2012, 2019, and 2022, involving around 675,000 insured employees with sickness benefits. The health insurance provider provides coverage to approximately 1.6 million members across the country.
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