PESHAWAR: To assist those who are addicted to smoking cigarettes, the Lady Reading Hospital has opened a smoking cessation center.
According to Dr. Ehtesham of the LRH pulmonology department, the clinic has been set up in the Outdoor Patient Department and will be open every Monday from 12 to 2 p.m.
He stated that legislation changes pertaining to e-cigarettes in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were suggested during a consultative meeting on the draft action plan.
Dr. Majid, the deputy director of public health, chaired the meeting and commended the clinic’s concept as well as the efforts of the hospital’s staff and administration.
According to Dr. Ehtesham, hospital employees would be the clinic’s primary target audience for the smoking cessation program. In addition to determining the intensity of withdrawal, he added that smokers were treated with two different medications based on their degree of nicotine addiction.
According to him, approximately 23% of Pakistan’s population smokes.
He claimed the World Health Organization estimated that there were about 24 million smokers in the nation in 2018; that figure has since increased to 27 million.
The seminar attendees emphasized the importance of raising public knowledge of the dangers of smoking, particularly with regard to contemporary forms of addiction including e-cigarettes, nicotine pouches, and sheesha.
In order to raise awareness among students, the panelists also recommended hosting lectures in educational institutions.
