WAM Abu Dhabi, 29th May 2012 (WAM) -- "Give it up! Stop smoking for life". On World No Tobacco Day this year, SKMC Environment Health and Safety department have this message for smokers. On 31st of May, from 9:00am to 1:00pm, SKMC puts into operation four information booths on its premises to raise awareness on the detrimental effects of smoking. SKMC is part of the SEHA health system, owned and operated by Abu Dhabi Health Services Company PJSC (SEHA), which is responsible for the curative activities of all the public hospitals and clinics in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.

SKMC's efforts at combating the negative impact of smoking begin on the 30th of May, when it conducts an awareness session for employees at their main auditorium where preventive cardiologist, Dr.Abdul Razzak Al Kaddour, will speak on "Smoking cessation - when there is a will, there is a way." Continuing their efforts in this endeavor, on 31st of May, World No Tobacco Day, SKMC invites SKMC employees and the public who indulge in the habit of smoking to make a stop at one of their information booths and avail of a Smokerlyser - that is, a Carbon Monoxide Breath Analyzer to measure the carbon monoxide (CO) level in a smoker's lungs. Visual proof of the carbon monoxide results often motivates an individual to quit smoking Smokers are encouraged to spare a few minutes and have their carbon monoxide level checked at SKMC's four information booths. The information booths are located at SKMC's main lobby, Surgical Pavilion; outside the Cafeteria (Surgical Pavilion); main lobby, Medical Pavilion; and the ground floor of the Outpatient Specialty Clinic Building.

SKMC successfully practices a Smoking Cessation Program which offers professional advice that includes counseling and treatment to smokers who seek to quit. Many people have attended this commendable Smoking Cessation Program with hope and a will to effect a change in their smoking habits. The response rate has been very encouraging. SKMC has achieved a quit rate from smoking that is slightly better than international statistics. 1 out of 4 smokers are successfully quitting while others are cutting down on the rate of smoking. To facilitate instant access, SKMC has published a �Quitline' telephone number, 02-819-5990, to enable smokers and referring physicians to contact medical personnel involved with the program to quit smoking and its implementation.

Thiqa card holders, SEHA staff and their dependents have access to the Smoking Cessation Program free of charge. Along with the Carbon Monoxide Breath Test, SKMC hands out information on the harmful effects of smoking. For smokers who make this as an opportune moment to quit, SKMC gifts a wristband that states the resolve "I commit to quit".

Dr.Al Kaddour is emphatic in his assertion that "It is never too late for the smoker to consider quitting regardless of the type, amount or duration of smoking. Whenever you have the will, there will always be a way." WAM/TF