Smokers flock to mobile clinic for help to quit

Most smokers can quit easily with the right advice and encouragement, doctors said.

UMM AL QUWAIN // Hundreds of smokers visited a mobile health clinic during a three-day initiative to help people give up the habit.

The “I quit and now it is your turn” antismoking event, held by the Ministry of Health, gave smokers a full health check to reveal the extent of the damage to their lungs and organs and to determine the best methods to help them quit.

“We started on December 18 and will finish on December 20. Our doctor does the check-up for visitors and gives them medical advice and instructions for quitting smoking. As well our health educators make them aware them about the risks of smoking,” said Salma Saleh, head of the health education department at UAQ Medical District.

Dr Bader Azam, a general practitioner who also works at the smoking cessation clinics in the emirate, said many of those who turned up had been smoking for many years.

“We do general medical tests including blood pressure, diabetes and body weight and mass. Then we examine the amount of carbon monoxide in their bodies. In addition, we ask them how they started smoking with a questionnaire to determine how much they are addicted to it.

“People who smoke between 20-25 cigarettes per day have a high nicotine dependence and need a three-month treatment, while those who smokes less than six in a day have a low addiction to nicotine and can be treated in a month.”

Dr Azam added that most smokers can quit easily with the right advice and encouragement.

“Treating nicotine addiction is possible through tablets and nicotine patches and gum. But if smoking is a habit, this might be harder to be treated. In this case we ask them to avoid sitting with their smoking friends, change their eating and drinking habits and do exercise.”

Egyptian Mohammed Saaed has been a smoker for 22 years and regularly thinks about stopping. The results of his carbon monoxide test came as a shock to the 41-year-old who said he was motivated to reduce his habit gradually.

“I found the clinic accidentally and decided to do a check-up to see how my health is,” said the legal consultant who smokes 20 cigarettes per day.

“The idea of quitting always comes and goes, but after seeing the high amount of carbon monoxide in my body I got scared and decided to reduce the amount of cigarettes because no one can quit smoking quickly.”

Ali Salem set his mind on quitting after visiting the clinic. The Emirati started smoking in 2000 and has more than 25 cigarettes a day.

“Ten years ago I quit for a short period of time and then went back to smoking,” the 32-year-old said.

“When I saw the clinic, I had a curiosity to just do a check-up. The percentage of carbon monoxide in my body was 10.7, and this motivated me to reduce smoking until I reach to the quitting stage,” Mr Salem said.