The Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC) has opened four new smoking cessation clinics to give greater accessibility for individuals to quit smoking.
New cessation clinics have been opened in Al Daayen, Mesaimeer, Omar Bin Kattab and Abu Bakr health centres.
This expansion is part of Qatar’s National Primary Health Care Strategy which aims to reform the primary healthcare sector through a number of various projects and initiatives.
The original clinic at Al Gharafa Health Centre has been in operation since 2013 and is led by Dr Hamad Rashid Almudahka, consultant in Community Medicine.
PHCC’s smoking cessation service is available to all patients and is led by trained physicians and nurses who will provide a tailored approach to behavioural change including counselling and prescribing of smoking cessation medications.
Khamis Amer al-Khaldi, director, Western Region of PHCC and operational lead for Health Promotion said, “I am very pleased to be leading on the expansion of smoking cessation services for PHCC. It’s very important that we support and encourage patients to lead healthier lifestyles and to be proactive about quitting smoking which will benefit themselves and their family.”
Individuals need to address lifestyle choices that have a direct impact on their physical and mental well-being and PHCC aims to support patients to make the right choices when it comes to their health.
If any patients wish to make an appointment to access the service or would like further information, they can contact the PHCC Customer Service Helpline on 107.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) reports that tobacco kills nearly 6mn people each year and more than 600,000 of those deaths are the result of non-smokers being exposed to second hand smoke.
