‘Quit smoking’ scheme has 50% success

More than half the smokers who took part in last year’s programme for quitting smoking,  kicked the habit, said the state health services (Okypy).

Okypy said, that 436 people participated in the programme in 2021, with 237 of them having successfully completed it and gave up smoking.

On the occasion ‘World No Tobacco Day’, on Tuesday, the World Health Organization (WHO) reminded that tobacco was not only a problem for smokers, but also for the whole planet.

Smoking was proven to be linked with an increased risk of cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, cancer, diabetes, hypertension and many other conditions.

Globally, the approximate weight of waste produced annually from the total life cycle of tobacco is about 25 million metric tonnes, said WHO.

“About 4.5 trillion cigarettes are thrown into the environment every year. There are more than 7,000 chemicals released into the environment from the use of a cigarette – 70 of which are known carcinogens,” WHO said.

Therefore, the disposal of e-cigarette cans and batteries is an environmental concern. “Most plastic e-cigarette containers are not reusable or recyclable and end up in gutters, roads and waterways, ” it adds.

In addition to the air pollution caused by cigarette butts, large areas of land were taken up for tobacco cultivation. At the same time, the industrial production of cigarettes is a major burden on climate change.

According to the WHO, “the average smoker could save up to 74 litres of water a day if he quit smoking.”