Pharmacists getting behind anti-smoking fight

THE people most often at the front lines of illness are now also the ones at the forefront of a campaign to help people stop smoking.

Jackie Maimin, acting chief executive of the Independent Community Pharmacy Association (ICPA), explained that community pharmacies across South Africa have committed their support to participating in the World Health Organisations’ (WHO) anti-tobacco initiative “Pharmacists Against Tobacco”.

Participating community pharmacists will be raising awareness around the dangers of tobacco smoke and the health benefits of stopping smoking.

The ICPA highlights a few reasons why you should quit smoking:

- Cigarettes contain arsenic, formaldehyde, lead, hydrogen cyanide, nitrogen oxide, carbon monoxide, ammonia and 43 known carcinogens.

- Nearly 8 out of 10 COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or emphysema) deaths are a result of smoking.

- The chance that a lifelong smoker will die prematurely from a complication of smoking is about 50%.

- In South Africa, tobacco smoking ranks third highest as a mortality risk factoraccounting for approximately 44 000 deaths every year in South Africa.

- Smoking has been found to harm nearly every organ and organ system in the body.

- Smoking is a leading cause of cancer and death from cancer.