| Universiti Putra Malaysia

“More efforts are needed to stop the habit of smoking”

By Nisa Khairina Amirudin

Photos by Marina Ismail

SERDANG, 27 June – The Minister of Health, Datuk Seri Dr. Dzulkefly Ahmad, hopes that Malaysians continue to support the efforts of creating awareness of a smoke-free lifestyle.

He said the Ministry will give continuous support for the organisation of such programmes.

“Smoking is not only bad to one’s health and financial state, it also affects the productivity, economy and environment of the society”, he said during the opening ceremony of the Awareness of Smoke-Free Environment Convention in conjunction with the World No Tobacco Day 2019 in Serdang.     

The convention was organised by the Faculty of Medical and Health Science (FPSK) UPM in cooperation with the Malaysian Council for Tobacco Control (MCTC), Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) and the Ministry of Health. The Dean of FPSK, Prof. Dr. Zamberi Sekawi, and the President of MCTC, Datuk Dr. Lekhraj Rampal, were present at the convention.  

The convention was held to create awareness among the public of the consequence of smoking which has been the primary contributor to fatal cases of about six million people across the globe.  The World No Tobacco Day is celebrated on May 31 annually.

Vice Chancellor of UPM, Prof. Datin Paduka Dato’ Dr. Aini Ideris, said that UPM will continue to be committed in organising anti-smoking campaigns and programmes.

She further added that UPM has been involved with tobacco control activities including teaching special courses, Epidemiology of Non-Communicable Diseases and Prevention and Control of NCDs Risk Factors.

She said that the courses are taught to students pursuing Masters in Public Health, Masters in Science and PhD in Public Health in an effort to support the Malaysian government in spreading awareness to the public of the risks of smoking.

Besides that, she said that UPM has also introduced the Stop Smoking Service to help students and staff who wish to quit smoking.  –UPM

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