Tobacco.org

Health workers urged to combat smoking 

Health care providers should intensify efforts to combat smoking since there is an alarming increase in the number of smokers in the Kingdom, said Dr. Najwa Al-Ghamdi at the inauguration of a symposium on Smoking Cessation — Improving the Role of Health Care Providers at King Fahd Medical City (KAMC) yesterday.

In her opening remarks, Al-Ghamdi, chairwoman of the symposium, pointed out that one sixth of the Kingdom’s six million smokers are women. “We hope that this event will act as a wake-up call to all health care providers to implement a multidisciplinary approach in assisting patients with tobacco addiction.”

Al-Ghamdi, who is a consultant clinical pharmacist, said health care providers could play an effective role in disseminating information on the ill effects of smoking. “Pharmacists have easy access to people and they can approach members of the public in a friendly way to help them quit smoking,” she said.

The symposium was organized by KAMC as part of a health awareness campaign conducted throughout the Kingdom in connection with World No Tobacco Day.

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