31 MAY 2018

Public Health and Reforms Center hosts round table on "May 31 - World No Tobacco Day"

On May 31, 2018, was held a round table on "May 31 - World No Tobacco Day" with participation of the Mass Media representatives at the Public Health and Reforms Center (PHRC) of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

The meeting aimed at highlighting health risks associated with tobacco use, explaining this year slogan “Tobacco and heart disease” and discussing tobacco control works carried out at state-level.

Deputy Director of PHRC Rahib Mammadov addressed the event and spoke about achievements on tobacco control: "Our government has adopted a law on “Restriction of Use of Tobacco Products” on the eve of the 30th anniversary of the “World Tobacco Day”. This law is important for protecting of the health of population, promoting of healthy lifestyle. The results of the using of the law have already reflected in our everyday life”.

The head of Population Health Department of PHRC, Tofig Musayev mentioned the proposals made by the Technical Advisory Group which was established in 2016 within the frame of the "Strengthening the Azerbaijani legislation on Tobacco Control" project and gave information about measures carried out for strengthening the existing tobacco control legislation. The physician-methodologist Latafat Dadashova acquainted participants with facts and statistics on cigarette smoking in our country: “Tobacco is a risk factor for 6 of the 8 leading causes of death. Smoking is a major cause of cardiovascular disease, stroke, cancer of various organs, especially lungs, as well as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)”.

The head of the Projects' Coordination Department of PHRC Sabina Babazade highlighted importance of educational meetings, lectures held for the purpose of protecting  younger generation from the harmful effects of tobacco: These educational meetings are regularly organized according to the “Plan of Actions” of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Azerbaijan which was adopted due to the President Ilham Aliyev’s speech at the conference devoted to the fourth year results of implementation of the “State Program on socio-economic development of regions of the Republic of Azerbaijan for 2014-2018 years”.

The head of Health Communication and Public Relations Department, Aytan Mammadova represented the most advanced examples of world experience in tobacco control and marketing policy of tobacco industry.

At the end of the event the speakers answered questions of interest to the round table participants. 

The full text of the news is available in Azerbaijani language.