Image for representation only.
DOHA: More than 30 percent of visitors at various Quit Smoking Clinics in health centres have given up the habit this year.
Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC) has helped 195 out of 604 people who visited the Quit Smoking clinics to quit smoking over the last nine months. At least one among three smokers succeeded in dropping the habit for a period of six months, according to officials. PHCC also stressed that most smokers who visit the clinic were between 18 and 30 years of age, and some 35 to 40 percent of them had kicked the habit.
Surveys conducted in 2013 showed that 12.1 percent of adult population here smokes tobacco. Studies also showed that the number of smokers in the 13-15 age group in Qatar had gone up from 6.5 percent to 9.8 percent, marking an increase of 3.3 percent between 2007 and 2013.
“Quit Smoking Clinics visitors are subjected to a comprehensive assessment of their condition, aimed at finding out the readiness of the smoker to quit. They are then given both pharmacological and behavioural treatment along with follow-ups in the clinics,” said Dr Wadha Al Baker, Director of Health Promotion and Wellness, PHCC.
Dr Al Baker stressed that PHCC has expanded the Quit Smoking Clinics to include Leabaib, Al Daayen, Al Gharrafa, Omar bin Khattab, Abu Baker Siddiq and Mesaimeer health centres.
Through these clinics, PHCC is providing an incentive programme for those who want to quit smoking for good. As part of the programme, patients are initially asked to think about the benefits of smoke-free life. As a second step, smokers are encouraged to quit the habit, avoid temptations and get support from those around them. The next step, vital and effective one involves stopping the habit. Smokers are asked to remind themselves the reasons for starting the programme and follow a different daily routine in the early days. The final step involves one to stay non-smoker for good.
