World No Tobacco Day is annually celebrated around the world on May 31...
World No Tobacco Day is annually celebrated around the world on May 31. Created in 1987 by World Health Organization (WTO), the World No Tobacco Day is to draw global attention to the tobacco epidemic and the preventable death and disease it causes.
Smoking is known as the second global leading cause of death, just after high blood pressure, according to WTO. Reportedly, over the past years, many atcivities have been held to prevent and reduce tobacco use in Khanh Hoa Province.
Thanks to the support from Vietnam Public Health Association, Khanh Hoa Public Health Association in cooperation with Khanh Hoa Department of Heath and Nha Trang City has joined effort to build a smoke-free city and satisfactory achievements have been gained since 2012, says Truong Tan Minh, Chairman of Khanh Hoa Public Health Association.
Accordingly, the tobacco control program has been held with many practical activities during 4 years such as meetings, workshops, training courses and propaganda campaigns, focusing on strengthening enforcement of smoke-free policies at schools, workplace, hotels, etc. 100% of wards, companies, schools and regional general clinics have founded steering boards of tobacco control with non-smoking signs set up in public places.
According to a recent study, the tobacco exposure rate of passive smokers has decreased from 57% to 47.7% with changes in smoking behaviors in workplaces in towns.
In response to the 2015 World No Tobacco Day and National Smokefree Week, a meeting and a parade winding along main streets in Nha Trang City are scheduled to be held by Khanh Hoa Public Health Association in cooperation with Khanh Hoa Department of Health and relevant agencies on May 31 with an expected participation of over 250 inhabitants. The event aims to deliver the slogans: “Quit smoking before it’s too late”, “Protect women and children from passive smoking”, “Build a smoke-free environment” and so on together with other messages about building smoke-free Nha Trang City.
From now to the end of the year, Khanh Hoa Public Health Association plans to continue the implementation of the tobacco control activities to assure a healthy living and working environment in Khanh Hoa Province.
N.T
