Over 10,000 pledge to quit smoking

Dubai: More than 10,000 people pledged to stop smoking on World No Tobacco Day last Sunday and pledges are still coming in although the day has passed, a senior doctor said.

"It has been a successful initiative by all standards," said Dr Wedad Al Maidour, Head of the National Tobacco Control Committee, Ministry of Health, in a statement.

Besides launching the campaign in labour accommodations, shopping malls, in schools, to housewives and passive smokers, it also went online on Facebook and Twitter, said Dr Prem Jagyasi, managing director of ExHealth, and one of the coordinators of the programme.

He said the response has been fantastic though it is being held for the first time in the UAE and that there are 450 Facebook members promoting the anti-smoking campaign.

"Each day, 3,000 kids become regular smokers and one-third eventually die from tobacco-related diseases. Worldwide almost 90 per cent of adult smokers began at or before age 18," Dr Jagyasi said. "Considering the terrifying facts, we rolled out a No Tobacco skit by school boys and girls, which caught the immediate attention of the young."

Dr Ayesha Abdullah, senior vice president of Dubai Healthcare City earlier said that a 30-day Quit and Win programme will continue till June 28 when participants will be tested again for nicotine levels. Those who successfully give up for the month will win prizes, she said.