MMAN — The King Hussein Cancer Centre (KHCC) on Sunday kicked off a training workshop on tobacco dependence treatment at the KHCC. 

 

The workshop will run until Friday and brought together pulmonologists, nurses, family physicians, pharmacists and general practitioners from Jordan, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Qatar and Oman, according to a statement sent from the KHCC.

 

In the statement, Director General of the KGCC Asem Mansour said that tobacco is the leading cause of cancer, heart disease and chronic diseases. Mansour also expressed concern about the rise the tobacco use in Jordan and the region, saying that according to scientific studies, Jordan was ranked highest in the Arab region in terms of tobacco use among males. 

 

Mansour emphasised the role of education in raising awareness among youth about the importance of avoiding tobacco in all its forms, as well as the role of community-based organisations in helping maintain a healthy, social and economic structure.

 

Chief Cancer Control Officer at KHCC Feras Hawari added that the “training programme is a cornerstone for all medical specialties to control the enormous increase in non-communicable diseases, namely cardiovascular diseases, cancer and respiratory illnesses and... in fact, smoking raises an individual’s risk of developing diabetes compared to non-smokers”.

 

Hawari said that the training programme is comprehensive, and delivered by experienced hands-on tobacco treatment specialists from the Cancer Control Office.

 

By the end of the workshop, which is the only one of its kind accredited outside the US, participants will be able to: recognise the constituents of tobacco products and their effect on the body, understand tobacco dependence and the relevant psychological and social factors, identify the gains of quitting in the short and long terms and identify the evidence behind proven treatment interventions, according to the statement.