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Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer has offered vital support to the government's anti-smoking initiatives by facilitating education and training and making its non-nicotine based anti-smoking drug available at local treatment centres.
"Smoking is an epidemic in the Middle East, and it is important that those involved in anti-smoking initiatives are equipped with the most effective tools available in the fight against addiction,"said Dr. Ahmed El Hakim, External Affairs Director for Pfizer.
The smoking cessation clinics, which have opened in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Al Ain, were given a boost earlier this year when Dr. Nides ran two-day training courses that provided counsellors with the necessary materials and skills critical to assisting a smoker in their effort to give up the harmful habit.
"Pfizer has provided continued support to the clinics by facilitating the training of counsellors, specifically providing them with the knowledge required to manage the psychological needs of smokers and how best to assist them in their journey to a smoke-free life," Dr El Hakim added.
In addition to the counselling, the clinics offer Pfizer's non-nicotine based anti-smoking drug - Champix - to help UAE smokers quit. Champix has been proven to be more effective than using willpower alone and, tests have shown that a smoker's likelihood of quitting is improved four times over after a twelve week course of the drug.
The number of smokers in the Middle East is alarming, and the opening of the anti-smoking clinics and the imposition of bans on smoking in public places shows a serious effort to curb this growing epidemic. Champix, which was approved by the UAE Health Ministry last year, has played a vital role in augmenting the success of both the clinics and individual's efforts to quit.
Posted by Rana Mesbah
