The Ministry of Health’s (MOH’s) Chronic Diseases Unit yesterday handed over to the Eccles Health Centre a quantity of Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) supplies to support smoking cessation efforts.
A release from the Ministry of Health said the initiative was in observance of World No Tobacco Day which will be on May 31st, and aims to raise awareness about the dangers of smoking and harmful use of tobacco products.
The Eccles Health Centre on the East Bank is the first facility to receive these supplies as part of the MOH treatment programme.
Last year, in observance of World No Tobacco Day, a Tobacco Cessation Clinic was launched at the Industry Health Centre, located on the East Coast Corridors as a measure to help tobacco users quit smoking. This initiative was later established at nine other health facilities, and to-date, there are now nine active clinics that patients can utilise. These are at the Craig Health Centre, Grove Health Centre, Buxton Health Centre, East La Penitence Health Centre, Lodge Health Centre, Festival City Health Centre, Industry Health Centre, Enmore Health Centre and Kitty Health Centre.
Through the clinics, the release said that healthcare workers will use the 5 A’s strategy to encourage patients to quit smoking. As such, it will see them asking the patients about tobacco use at every visit and recording their status; asking if the tobacco user is willing to quit within the next 30 days; providing advice that is clear, strong and personalised in a manner for every tobacco user to stop using tobacco and non-tobacco users to remain tobacco-free; assisting and helping all tobacco users to stop based on their willingness; and arranging a scheduled follow-up contact, either in person or by telephone.
With the Eccles Health Centre now being added to the list, the Nicotine Replacement Therapy will be a new addition to the Tobacco Cessation Clinics and it will see tobacco users gradually reducing their dependence on nicotine, making it easier to quit smoking and improve overall health. The nine other health centres are expected to have the Nicotine Replacement Therapy within a month’s time.
In her remarks, Technical Officer for Tobacco Dr Shelieza Gopie noted that with the NRT, tobacco users will be given Nicotine Lozenges to be dissolved in the mouth. They come in different flavours and help to reduce the cravings for cigarettes without exposing users to harmful chemicals.
