Towards a smoke-free M’sia

Clearing the air: (from left) Dr Rahimah, Dr Yee, Prof Dr Nazirah, Prof Dr Rusdi, cohort leader Tasnim Mohamad Rosli and UMCAS chief coordinator Assoc Prof Dr Amer Siddiq Amer Nordin posing for a photo at the launch of the tobacco control campaign.

Tobacco control advocacy course for Universiti Malaya (UM) and UM Medical Centre (UMMC) staff should be made compulsory so that they can be agents of change for tobacco control.This is important as everyone plays a role in realising the National Strategic Plan for Tobacco Control, said UMMC director Prof Dr Nazirah Hasnan.

The plan aims to reduce the prevalence of smokers to 15% by the year 2025 and to achieve the endgame for tobacco in Malaysia by 2040, where the prevalence of smokers will be less than 5%, she said when launching the “Introduction to tobacco control” awareness campaign at UMMC on Jan 17.