Dr Ashaur Ibrahim (left), Clinical Psychologist; Dr. Ahmad Al Mulla, Director of Tobacco Control Center, Noor Hassan, Quality Controller and Dr Jamal Abdullah, Smoking Cessation Specialist, during a press conference held yesterday.
Doha: Hamad Medical Corporation’s (HMC) Tobacco Control Center is seeing more people wanting to stop smoking as result of price hike in tobacco and its products following recent imposition of ‘Selective Tax’ on health damaging goods.
“The number of people who call the Centre’s hotline and those visit the Smoking Cessation Clinic for the first time have increased in the past several weeks. Many visitors have revealed that they intend to give up smoking due to the price hike,” said Dr Ahmad Al Mulla, Head of the HMC Tobacco Control Center, yesterday.
“The taxation on tobacco and its products has made an impact. The price hike has made people rethink about smoking. We see this trend increasing,” he added speaking at a press conference held at the Tobacco Control Center. Located in Hamad Bin Khalifa Medical City, building 311, the center recorded around 4000 visits at its Smoking Cessation Clinic in 2018. Each person intending to quit smoking attends at least six appointments. They are between the age of 12 and 70 years. About 35 to 40 percent of them have quit smoking for a at least six months. Many of those who seek treatment are considered heavy smokers, smoking more than 30 cigarettes a day.
Patients attending the Smoking Cessation Clinic receive one-on-one counseling and appropriate nicotine replacement or pharmaceutical support. Patients also undergo a full assessment, including a complete medical history and related evaluations, such as lung function tests.
As part of the assessment, clinicians talk to patients about available treatment options, which include the most modern and effective solutions to quit smoking. Psychological support is also a core part of treatment.
“In addition to smoking cigarettes and sheesha, the most popular forms of tobacco use among people include chewing tobacco and a tobacco product mixed with aromatic leaf and bark herbs (Midwakh or Dokha). Some are smoking electronic cigarettes although they are banned in Qatar,” said Dr Jamal Basuhai, Smoking Cessation Specialist.
Smoking Cessation Clinic also organizes awareness activities about its services and dangers of tobacco use. “We focus a lot on secondhand smoking in awareness activities. Secondhand smoking can cause damage to children and others. There is no safe zone for secondhand smoking. It is really dangerous,” said Dr Basuhai.
“Now there is thirdhand smoking which is residual nicotine and other chemicals left on indoor surfaces by tobacco smoke. People are exposed to these chemicals by touching contaminated surfaces or breathing in the off-gassing from these surface,” he added.
