WORLD NO TOBACCO DAY

A World No Tobacco Day webinar was organized by Associate Prof Dr Sumera Riaz on 29^th May 2021. Tobacco smoking was explained as a risk factor for numerous infectious diseases and lung cancer, as well as lung damage induced by smoking and how it may effect infectivity and disease progression in COVID-19 patients. Prof Dr Saira Afzal (Dean of Public Health and Preventive Medicine & Chairperson of Department of Community Medicine at KEMU, Lahore) joined the webinar as a keynote speaker and shared her experience as a public health researcher. She explained the social and personal dilemmas which lead to the cultivation of smoking habit among youth, the adverse effects of tobacco-based products with a particular focus on Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDs) and how their use may affect the rate of transmissibility of coronavirus among the younger population.

The second speaker, Associate Prof Dr Mohammed Khalid (Clinical Oncologist & Head of Radiotherapy/Oncology Department at Allied Hospital, Faisalabad), highlighted the importance of early diagnosis & treatment of cancer.