31 May is World Tobacco Day, and this year, the University of Malta is trying to raise awareness about the harmful effects of tobacco on youth by communicating with Ms Anne Buttigieg, smoking cessation practitioner and Visiting Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Dental Surgery.
• What’s the importance of celebrating World No Tobacco Day?
This year we aim to create awareness about the deceptive campaigns of the tobacco industry that is spending lots of money in marketing tobacco products and hooking the next generation. Youths are being encouraged to smoke and this is causing them various life problems, that includes life threatening lung injuries amongst other serious health problems.
• How can smoking complicate the life of a student?
Whoever doesn’t smoke, has one less potential health and life problem to worry about. Youths are the only source of replacement smokers, represent a lifetime of profits to the tobacco industry and this precisely is the theme set by the World Health Organisation for this year. Whereas youths are being told that smoking will help calm them down, which is something they’ll want to hear especially during stressful times. Far from reducing stress, nicotine dependency has adverse mood consequences of addiction that leads to higher stress. Smoking in any form or disguise will cause a lot of health damage that also incorporates oral cancer in its list.
• Do vapes cause harm?
The mist that one breaths from vapes, e-cigarettes, nicotine pouches or any other tobacco product that is a new wave, of addiction, has still got harmful chemicals that cause a lot of damage. Nicotine, which is an addictive substance, is being explored by the tobacco industry. Vaping isn’t safe as the heavy metals in the vapor build up in the blood and organs and cause damage. Definitely not a substitute to cigarettes, as our lungs need clean air, not contaminated or burned tobacco smoke/ air.
• What services are available to those who want to stop smoking?
Every week, the Mobile Dental Unit goes around different localities in Malta, and one of the services offered is smoking cessation advice.
For more information, one can visit the dedicated webpage.
