Dubai: A public campaign has got under way in Dubai to help smokers who wish to quit but cannot because of their addiction to tobacco.
Visitors to parks across the emirates will be given free medical checks and awareness booklets about the hazards of smoking, which kills millions of people across the globe.
A senior Dubai Municipality official said smoking shishas has been banned in public parks since the past two years. “We are waiting for the law (to go into force) to ban smoking in public places completely,” said Mohammad Ali Fardan, Head of Public Parks at the Dubai Municipality. He told Gulf News that people earlier ruined the parks by smoking shishas and dumping the burned tobacco on the grass.
The UAE has already banned smoking in closed spaces as offices, shopping malls, universities, places of worship, and it is also a crime to smoke with a child in a car.
The free medical checks are being provided by DM Healthcare group in cooperation with Dubai Health Authority, Dubai Municipality and Gulf News. The awareness campaigns and free clinics will move across the various parks of Dubai over the coming months.
Dr Azad Moopen, Chairman of the group, said if each of us could convert one smoker into a non-smoker, thousands would be saved from various cancers and the ill effects of tobacco. “Let this city, which has always been in the forefront, send out a strong message against smoking,” he said.
He said it was common knowledge that tobacco smoke has 70 toxic chemicals that’s cause cancer. But people are unable to quit as the nicotine’s effects reaches the brain rapid fast, he said. Dr Moopen said the good news is that the younger generation is aware of the hazards of smoking. “Those smoking now are the older people,” he said.
He was speaking at a ceremony to mark the launch of the campaign at Zabeel Park on Thursday. It was attended by Dr Ahmad Kalban, CEO of Primary Healthcare at the DHA. Dr Kalban said there was a need to change the behaviour of some people and make this a healthy society.
Scary facts:
People who smoke one pack a day will lose 2 months of their lives per year
Tobacco use accounts for 30pc of all cancer deaths and 87pc of lung cancer deaths
Second-hand smoke causes disease and premature death in non-smokign adults and children
Many diabetics are unaware that sugar accounts for 20pc of a cigarette
Wish to quit? Call 04 4400500 or write to: notobacco@dmhealthcare.com for registering yourself or referring a friend for counselling services, or email to readers@gulfnews.com
