Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC) has marked World No Tobacco Day by participating in an awareness campaign about the risks of being a smoker.
The campaign was held at the Vodafone Qatar office and 120 employees participated in it.
World No Tobacco Day is observed on May 31.
PHCC took part in the event by providing specialised medical staff, who assisted Vodafone Qatar employees by offering medical check-ups and raised awareness about the effects of smoking. PHCC also advised the
participants on how to quit smoking.
Dr Hebah Adnan Abu Halawah, head of health awareness at PHCC, explained the main purpose of the corporation’s participation saying, “PHCC is keen to participate in all events and activities in raising community awareness on the risks of smoking. These awareness campaigns are in alignment with PHCC’s message to improve the health of each individual and achieve its vision as being the first provider of choice for primary healthcare services in Qatar.”
Dr Ahmed Mustafa, family medicine specialist at the PHCC West Bay health centre, said: “Smokers are at high risk of suffering from lung cancers, airway and trachea infections. There are other medical conditions that smoking can aggravate, especially those with asthma and hypertension.”
In addition, Dr Mustafa encouraged the employees at Vodafone Qatar to quit smoking and start healthy lifestyles by eating a balanced diet and doing exercise.
Osama Ahmed, Vodafone Qatar health, safety and wellbeing manager, said, “At Vodafone Qatar, we place very high importance on the health and wellbeing of our employees. To that effect, we have a year-long calendar of events comprising quarterly activities that cover quit-smoking campaigns, weight-loss programmes, blood screening and body measurement tests.”
In co-operation with PHCC, 120 employees went through the blood screening process to check their blood sugar, blood pressure as well as medical consultancy for several health issues.
A PHCC team interacts with Vodafone Qatar employees.
