To help smokers quit their habit, the health affairs department in Jeddah launched Monday a campaign against this enemy of human health. The campaign aims to collect data on the actual number of smokers, both male and female, by asking smokers to fill out forms at the Red Sea Mall. “In a closed environment, a smoker is not only harming himself but also those who are nearby, such as friends, children, etc. So he should quit smoking at least for the sake of their health, if not for his own,” remarked Dr. Al-Zahrani, a member of the Anti-Smoking Committee at Jeddah Health Affairs. Dr. Al-Zaharani told Saudi Gazette that simply filling out this form will ascertain how many smokers in Jeddah are looking to quit, thereby allowing the campaign to help them in this effort. “Let me send a message to all smokers in Jeddah: We are ready to help them quit the habit in our smoking clinics in Bariman, Al-Salamah, Al-Balad and Al-Safa Districts,” he said. Jeddah Health Affairs has already prepared a special survey in both English and Arabic to help its study. The survey consists of several questions regarding the smoker's choice of addiction including pipe, sheesha or cigarettes. Moreover, the survey also includes a Fagerstorm Tolerance test (a questionnaire consisting of questions about time, obstacles to quit smoking and numbers of cigarettes smoked per day on average). Based on the answers, there will be a total score for each smoker. Each total score reflects the health of the smoker. For example, a total score between eight to 10 marks means that the smoker is very addicted and dependent on smoking. “Before the smoker fills the application form, he or she undergoes a thorough medical check up like the measuring of blood pressure, body mass indices (BMI), Glucose, Cholesterol and Carbon Monoxide (CO),” explained Dr. Al-Zaharani. The campaign is part of the international anti-smoking day - World No Tobacco Day - organized annually on May 31 by the World Health Organization (WHO). This year's theme focused on female smokers. The rising number of female smokers across the world has pushed anti-smoking organizations to fight this habit, especially for pregnant mothers.
