PETALING JAYA – Musim jerebu  kini menjadi sebahagian daripada kehidupan rakyat Malaysia dan mereka sudah belajar menyesuaikan diri masing-masing agar sentiasa sihat.

Pengurus Negara Kalbe Malaysia, Oktavianus berkata, masyarakat juga dilihat begitu cenderung untuk memahami apa yang berlaku pada tubuh mereka dan ini merupakan satu perkembangan yang sangat positif.

Menurut beliau, perubahan ini sedang membentuk semula cara rakyat  menjaga kesihatan harian dan antara tabiat mereka adalah membaca label dengan lebih teliti, membandingkan produk dalam talian dan semakin kerap bertanya kepada pembantu kecerdasan buatan (AI) tentang pelbagai soalan.

“Antara soalan mereka adakah jerebu boleh menyebabkan batuk, atau apakah perbezaan antara batuk berkahak dengan batuk kering.

“Jadi disinilah peranan jenama produk yang sudah lama bertapak, ini bermakna kepercayaan yang dibina sejak berdekad lamanya perlu diiringi dengan kerelevanan serta maklumat yang jelas dan jujur,” katanya dalam kenyataan.

Kalbe Malaysia Sdn Bhd adalah pengedar produk Sirap Batuk Pudina Woods’ di pasaran tempatan.

Oktavianus memberitahu, apabila musim jerebu, tiada satu penyelesaian tunggal untuk mengatasi masalah tersebut, tetapi ada banyak langkah kecil dan bijak yang boleh dilakukan.

“Harapan kami, rakyat Malaysia berasa lebih yakin untuk menjaga diri dan keluarga mereka, dan apabila mereka memerlukan legaan batuk, mereka dapat membuat pilihan yang bermaklumat. Itulah cara kami mahu terus mendapat tempat di rumah rakyat Malaysia untuk generasi akan datang,” terangnya.

Bila menyebut tentang Woods, ia telah menjadi sebahagian daripada perjalanan ini sejak turun-temurun dan ramai rakyat Malaysia masih ingat rasa pudina yang biasa sejak zaman kanak-kanak, dan hari ini generasi baharu ibu bapa pula mula mendekatkan  jenama tersebut untuk keluarga mereka sendiri.

Hubungan yang terjalin sekian lama ini telah membolehkan Woods’ menerima Anugerah Emas bagi kategori Kesihatan di Putra Aria Brand Awards (2025), anjuran Persatuan Agensi Pengiklanan Bertauliah Malaysia (4As), yang mengiktiraf jenama berdasarkan pertumbuhan pilihan pengguna.

Oktavianus menerangkan, bagi jenama warisan, pengiktirafan yang datang terus daripada pengguna amat bermakna dan ini Ia menunjukkan bahawa kepercayaan yang dibina oleh generasi terdahulu terus dibawa ke hadapan.

“Ia juga mendorong kami untuk terus melabur dalam cara kami mendekati rakyat Malaysia, sama ada melalui pendidikan, platform baharu atau sekadar hadir dalam detik-detik yang penting bagi keluarga,” ujarnya.

Tambah beliau, apabila seseorang itu mengalami batuk, maka individu itu akan  memilih ubat berdasarkan kebiasaan atau cadangan rakan, tanpa menyedari bahawa tidak semua batuk adalah sama.

Batuk berkahak atau batuk produktif, mengeluarkan kahak atau lendir, manakala batuk kering terasa gatal dan tidak mengeluarkan kahak.

Oleh kerana setiap jenis batuk memerlukan cara legaan yang berbeza, mengenali jenis batuk anda ialah langkah pertama yang paling berguna.

Bagi batuk berkahak, produk yang mengandungi ekspektoran seperti guaifenesin membantu melonggarkan kahak supaya lebih mudah dikeluarkan. Sebagai contoh, Sirap Batuk Pudina WOODS’ menggabungkan guaifenesin, yang berkesan untuk batuk berkahak, dengan pudina yang memberikan sensasi melegakan pada tekak.

Selain memilih legaan yang sesuai, tabiat harian yang mudah juga memberi perbezaan besar sepanjang musim jerebu.

Menyemak bacaan IPU di kawasan anda sebelum berada lama di luar rumah, mengurangkan aktiviti luar apabila kualiti udara tidak sihat, minum air secukupnya dan memakai pelitup muka yang sesuai apabila perlu dapat membantu mengurangkan pendedahan.

“Tiada satu penyelesaian tunggal untuk jerebu, tetapi ada banyak langkah kecil dan bijak yang boleh kita semua lakukan, harapan kami adalah rakyat berasa lebih yakin untuk menjaga diri dan keluarga mereka.

“Apabila mereka memerlukan legaan batuk, mereka dapat membuat pilihan yang bermaklumat. Itulah cara kami mahu terus mendapat tempat di rumah rakyat Malaysia untuk generasi akan datang,” terangnya. -KOSMO! ONLINE

Johan Setia in Selangor recorded the highest API reading at 176, followed by Shah Alam (170), Klang (164), Banting (163), Petaling Jaya (160) and Kuala Selangor (160).

Similar readings were recorded in the federal capital, with Cheras recording 169 and Batu Muda 156, while Putrajaya recorded 165.

In Negeri Sembilan, unhealthy API readings were recorded in Nilai (174), Port Dickson (167) and Seremban (165), while in Johor similar readings were recorded in Pasir Gudang (173), Larkin (170), Batu Pahat (167), Tangkak (165), Kota Tinggi (164), Pengerang (163), Segamat (160) and Kluang (155).

The affected areas in Melaka were Bandaraya Melaka (174), Bukit Rambai (170) and Alor Gajah (161), while in Pahang the areas include Rompin (159), Indera Mahkota Kuantan (157), Balok Baru Kuantan (157) and Jerantut (145).

Unhealthy API readings were also recorded in Seri Manjung (157) in Perak; Kemaman (146) and Kuala Terengganu (135) in Terengganu; Minden (128) and Balik Pulau (117) in Penang; as well as Serian (175), Kuching (158), Samarahan (157) and Samalaju (116) in Sarawak.

API readings of between zero and 50 are categorised as good, 51 to 100 as moderate, 101 to 200 as unhealthy, 201 to 300 as very unhealthy, and 301 and above as hazardous.

BANGKOK, Sept 29 — Four people have died in Bangkok after heavy rains caused widespread flooding, the government said Tuesday, as the toll from floods across Thailand since mid-September rose to 23.

Around 700,000 people have been affected by floods in the capital, according to the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM), which detailed the fatalities.

Parts of Bangkok remained water-logged on Tuesday, three days after city authorities declared a city-wide disaster following almost 48 hours of continuous rain.

Schools remained shut for a second day, while almost 7,000 people stayed in more than 230 shelters across the city, according to Bangkok authorities.

In a statement, the DDPM said flooding had hit 29 of Thailand's 77 provinces.

Four people died in Bangkok, eight in Samut Prakan, which lies between the capital and the sea, and six in Sa Kaeo, an eastern province, it said.

The remaining deaths were recorded in Chanthaburi, south-east of Bangkok, Ayutthaya and Saraburi, two provinces to the north of the capital.

September is the peak of Thailand's rainy season, but many Bangkok residents said this year's floods seemed worse than previous ones.

The city is built on former marshlands and is intersected by a network of canals, many of them heavily flooded by the rains.

Pumping stations have been operating at full capacity for days, but Governor Chadchart Sittipunt said Sunday it could take “up to a week” for the waters to fully drain.

Scientists warn the intensity and frequency of extreme weather events will increase as global warming accelerates because of fossil fuel emissions. — AFP 

PONTIANAK, Sept 29 — Welcome rain has brought relief to residents of Indonesia’s Pontianak city after weeks of exposure to a cloying, toxic haze given off by rampant wildfires on Borneo island.

Fires have torn through vast swathes of peat and forest areas on Borneo and nearby Sumatra island, with the resulting haze drifting also to neighbouring Malaysia and Singapore.

The thick smog had limited outdoor activities in Pontianak, a city of about 700,000 people, with schools forced to shutter and thousands of respiratory cases recorded in the region since last month, according to officials.

Rains in recent days have brought a welcome respite, said homemaker Lilis Suryani, who has been worrying about the effects of the haze on her children’s health.

“After the rain, I immediately felt the difference. The air was better, and the visibility was clearer,” the 43-year-old told AFP.

University student Uray Rosa Febrianti, 23, said that “the rain means a lot... not only to cool the air, but also to give hope that the situation is beginning to improve”.

“I see it as a gift from God.”

Indonesia has deployed firefighters assisted by volunteers across affected areas, and used cloud-seeding and water-bombing, with limited success.

The level of PM2.5 pollution in Pontianak was still more than 23 times the World Health Organization’s safe limit at one point today, according to IQAir, a Switzerland-based monitor.

Earlier this month, levels of PM2.5 in the city were over 100 times the recommended cap.

PM2.5 particles are so small they can enter deep into the lungs and even the bloodstream, with potentially dire consequences for health.

Indonesia regularly battles wildfires during the dry season, which in Borneo typically peaks between July and September.

The fires have intensified this year in part because of the El Nino weather phenomenon, set to be one of the strongest since comparable records began four decades ago.

El Nino typically brings severe drought to Indonesia.

Experts have also pointed to slash-and-burn land-clearing practices that have changed the naturally fire-resistant landscape. — AFP