Prevention is key in healthcare

Effective health education plays a crucial role in this context. An informed patient can proactively manage their health and prevent illness, rather than only seeking medical advice after becoming unwell. This was a key takeaway from the debate titled ‘Public Health: The Role and Importance of Prevention and Health Promotion’ at the Economic Forum in Karpacz.

A significant portion of the debate focused on issues related to stimulants, particularly alcohol. Professor Andrzej Fal from the National Medical Institute of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration, who moderated the discussion, began with a presentation on behavioural health risks associated with lifestyle and nutrition.

Risk factors

Among the major risk factors related to an unhealthy diet, junk food, sugar, and salt stand out prominently. In terms of drugs, the health risks associated with smoking cigarettes are over 20% in Poland, compared to 12% in Norway and 17% across the EU. For alcohol, the risk is 6% in Poland, aligning with the EU average, while Norway reports a lower risk of 3%. These figures represent the percentage of health risks linked to each factor, rather than the percentage of individuals using the drug.

As Professor Fal noted, smoking cigarettes is the most significant behavioural health risk factor, with approximately 30% of the population in Poland identifying as smokers. When it comes to alcohol consumption, nearly 20% of Poles report complete abstinence over the past 12 months. Among those who do drink, 20% consume 80% of the alcohol in the country.

Professor Fal reported that over half of the alcohol consumed in Poland is beer, accounting for 55% of total consumption. In contrast, daily sales include 1.3 million small-format spirits, with approximately 410,000 sold in the morning. However, focusing on spirits can distract from the more significant issue of beer consumption. Each day, 9.4 million packs of beer are sold, with 31% – or 2.6 million packs – purchased in the morning. To fully understand the problem, we must consider the complete picture, he emphasised.

He added that we often overlook the fact that alcohol consumption typically begins with lower-alcohol beverages, such as beer.

– Beer is also an alcoholic beverage, and it is widely advertised and sponsors numerous sporting events," said Professor Andrzej Fal. We have come to accept this as part of our culture.

Professor Leszek Czupryniak of the Medical University of Warsaw noted that when doctors inquire about a patient’s alcohol consumption, patients often claim they drink ‘nothing’. – And what does 'nothing' mean? Professor Czupryniak recounted. – The answer might be half a litre of vodka for two people. He explained that to address this issue more accurately, doctors have learned to specifically ask about beer consumption, as patients previously used ‘nothing’ to refer implicitly to vodka, revealing that they were actually drinking beer.

– When discussing preventive health care, the two major concerns are beer and tobacco. However, the Ministry of Health does not address these issues, and there is no policy in place. The harmful effects of cigarettes are well-documented by scientific research. In Poland, we have developed the notion that moderate alcohol consumption is harmless, said Professor Czupryniak. – If we approached this area with a focus on prevention, it could lead to increased funding in the health system and improved public health, he added.

– In preventive healthcare, special efforts should be directed at men, who often seek medical attention later than women. Occupational medicine has untapped preventive potential. He argued that it is crucial to undergo these examinations and suggested extending the diagnostic panel and placing greater emphasis on quality diagnostics, postulated Professor Czupryniak. – In addition to addressing alcohol and cigarettes, he pointed out that focus should also be placed on the three main killer diseases of society: hypertension and diabetes, which are asymptomatic for long periods, and obesity, he added.

Champions at relativising

Jarosław Pinkas, Director of the School of Public Health and Dean of the Centre for Postgraduate Medical Education, observed that we have become ‘champions at relativizing’. He noted that we tend to downplay real risks and fail to address the most dangerous habits, such as those related to electronic cigarettes and alcohol. – There is no doctor in Poland, especially not a cardiologist, who would endorse these as healthy choices While everything can be enjoyed in moderation, we must exercise restraint and use such substances wisely, Jarosław Pinkas explained.