Food Safety Knowledge and Practice Among Community in Sg. Pelek, Sepang, Selangor Darul Ehsan

Food safety is a basic requirement of food quality. It is an increasingly important public health issue to prevent and control food borne illnesses. A cross-sectional study was designed to determine level of knowledge and practice on food safety, to determine the association between knowledge and practice, and also to identify the association between socio-demographic factors and practice score of the population studied. This study was conducted among adult population in Taman Bahagia, Sungai Pelek, Sepang, Selangor Darul Ehsan. Data were collected using an interviewed structured questionnaire. A stratified random sampling was performed to obtain houses, followed by simple random sampling to select sample in the house. A total of 115 data sets were analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20.0. Analysis showed that 35% of respondents have poor level of knowledge on food safety, whereas 27% of the respondents have poor level of practices on food safety. Multiple linear regression revealed that there are a significant association between education level (p<0.001), Adj b=2.57 (95% CI: 1.15, 3.99) and gender (p=0.048), Adj b=1.15 (95% CI: 0.01, 2.29) with practice score on food safety. Therefore, health promotion and education on the importance of practicing food safety at home should be focused to prevent further unwanted health effects

Challenges to Quit Smoking among Smokers in Bandar Baru Salak Tinggi, Sepang, Selangor, Malaysia

Cigarette smoking is the largest preventable risk factor for morbidity and mortality in developed countries.  The prevalence of smoking is increasing in Malaysia.  Over the years, we have accumulated the knowledge of the risks and dangers of smoking towards health and had used these as interventions to motivate smokers to quit smoking.  However, quitting smoking is hard as people who stop smoking often start again because of weight gain, stress and withdrawal symptoms.  Therefore, this study aimed to identify the challenges to quit smoking among smokers in Bandar Baru Salak Tinggi, Sepang, Selangor.  A cross-sectional study was conducted with a combination of stratified and simple random sampling.  The study was conducted via a face-to-face interview using a standardized questionnaire.  The data was analyzed using SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) Version 20.0.  Easy availability of cigarettes was the most challenging factor (86%) followed by seeing things that reminded the respondents of smoking (58%), feeling lost without smoking (53%) and withdrawal symptoms (47%).  To combat these challenges, it is imperative to strengthen the enforcement on regulations advertisement and display of cigarettes and develop more activities on motivation among smokers and their families, which may be organized by government or non-government organizations. Other than that, another important aspect in the promoting smoking cessation program is to encourage smoke-free homes