Intensive efforts by the health authorities to fight against tobacco use in the country have resulted positively and that was echoed by a recent report by the World Health Organization(WHO), said a senior official.
WHO has recently projected a global decline in the number of males using tobacco products. In Qatar, tobacco use among people aged 15 years and older has also been projected to decline by year 2020 with a prevalence of 28.1 and by 2025 with a prevalence of 27.5% compared to 28.6% in 2015, according to its latest global report on trends in prevalence of tobacco use 2000-2025 third edition.
“This decline is reflected by the collaborative efforts and important roles played by the concerned stakeholders across the country, including the Tobacco Control Center at Hamad Medical Corporation – WHO Collaborating Center (HMC TCC – WHOCC), Ministry of Public Health and the Primary Healthcare Corporation,” said Dr. Ahmad Al Mulla (pictured), Head of Hamad Medical Corporation’s Tobacco Control Center.
“The HMC TCC – WHOCC continues its fight against tobacco by excessively conducting awareness campaigns and activities across the country that target all ages in various settings, whether academic institutions such as schools and universities or public and private governmental and non-governmental facilities,” he told The Peninsula, yesterday.
In addition to the awareness activities, HMC TCC – WHOCC ensures the provision of preventive and curative smoking cessation services to the widest audience in the country. The services are accessible and free for locals and residents residing in Qatar where smokers interested in quitting can attend the center’s smoking cessation clinic in Hamad Medical City, Building 311 from Sunday through Wednesday between 7.30 am and 2.30 pm or the clinic at Out Patient Department, Hamad General Hospital on Wednesdays between 7.30 am and 2.30 pm.
“HMC TCC – WHOCC thrives to conduct several training workshops on a yearly basis in order to maximize the pool of trained healthcare providers to ensure the optimal coverage of smoking cessation services in the country. The aim of the trainings is to increase the knowledge, skills and confidence of healthcare providers in the field of tobacco control to appropriately deliver brief tobacco interventions as primary care providers and provide similar trainings to their colleagues,” said Dr Mulla.
He also emphasised on the role of the different media outlets (social media, print and broadcast media) covering the awareness events conducted by HMC TCC – WHOCC thus leading to the maximal spread of the conveyed awareness messages among the general population across the country.
“The center will continue to play its role in combating the tobacco epidemic in Qatar and the region by delivering regular health awareness and promotion activities and enhancing its capacity building efforts locally and regionally thus leading to increased levels of knowledge about the hazards of smoking and benefit of quitting and this in turn may increase quit intentions and subsequent quitting among users,” said Dr Al Mulla.
