Responding to Smoking Control, UM Surabaya Expert: Tobacco Can Prevent Dengue Fever

Commemorating this year's national health day, Muhammadiyah Tobacco Control Network (MTCN) held a Virtual Talkshow event (27/11/2021) with the theme "Muhammadiyah Movement in Improving the Health and Welfare of the Nation's Generation".

The event, which was attended by Agus Suprapto (Deputy III for Health and Population Quality Improvement Coordination) of the Coordinating Ministry for Human Development and Culture, aims to encourage active participation in controlling tobacco. As well as encouraging the government to continue to carry out regulations and efforts to control tobacco. One of the things that attracts attention is the discourse to process tobacco into other commodities besides cigarettes.

Vella Rohmayani, a lecturer and researcher who became one of the talkshow speakers explained the importance of processing tobacco into other more useful commodities, one of which is processing it into larvicides.

“Tobacco is a plant with high larvicidal effectiveness. Because the use of low doses of tobacco extract can already cause death in Aedes sp. mosquito larvae. which is the vector of Dengue Fever (DHF), apart from that tobacco larvicide was also effective in causing death in Anopheles sp. larvae. and Culex sp.” Vella added the parasitology expert.

Vella also added that data on the prevalence or cases of DHF in Java are currently still very high. While the control still uses synthetic larvicide, which in fact has a bad impact on human health, the environment, and can cause resistance.

Because using natural larvicides from tobacco extract will be much safer and more environmentally friendly, and very effective in killing mosquito larvae. It is hoped that this will help tackle the transmission of DHF, especially in the province of Java.

"Tobacco larvicides have been shown to be a substitute for synthetic larvicide or abate. This proves that tobacco can be used for something more useful. Not just for cigarettes," said Vella who now serves as an administrator for the Muhammadiyah Tobacco Control Center (MTCC) UM Surabaya.