By JESSE GRAHAM
HEALESVILLIANS are being urged to ditch the cigarettes and seek help to address their health, with World No Tobacco Day coming up this week.
World No Tobacco Day will take place on Saturday 31 May, and marks the 27th year of the annual anti-smoking day.
To mark the occasion, Yarra Valley Community Health staff will be joined by Deadly Dan the Smoke Free Man at the Healesville Walk Shopping Centre from 2-4pm on Thursday 29 May.
The staff members – and Deadly Dan – will have brochures, information and displays outlining the benefits of quitting smoking.
A special “breathometer” will also be at the shopping centre, where people can test the effects of smoking on their breathing.
Eastern Health’s Chronic Care and Wellbeing Operations and Development manager Julie Evans urged residents to seek help to quit smoking and said the addiction remained a high risk for people in the area.
“We approach nicotine dependence as a chronic condition that requires both behavioural (changes) and medication to manage,” Ms Evans said.
She said that services such as the Tobacco Free Clinic at Yarra Valley Community Health and the dedicated Aboriginal Health Services in Healesville offer support for smokers trying to quit.
“Asking for help is often difficult, but we want to assure clients that we understand nicotine dependence and can help – making a connection to the clinic can be the start of the journey.”
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), which organises World No Tobacco Day, around six million people die worldwide from smoking-related causes.
The organisation is calling on countries around the world to raise tobacco taxes, in order to shift behaviour towards reducing tobacco consumption.
For more information about the Tobacco Free Clinic, call 0417 861 324 or email tfcenquiries@easternhealth.org.au.
For more information about World No Tobacco Day, visit www.who.int.
