May 31st is celebrated as “World No Tobacco Day”, promoted by the WHO since 1988, to highlight the harmful effects of tobacco products on health. It is in fact established that smoking kills about half of the people who use it, not only directly with diseases directly related to smoking (lung cancer, heart attacks, serious respiratory failure), but also due to respiratory complications secondary to other pathologies.
At least 6 million people are expected to die from tobacco-related complications this year, and it’s not just smokers who will suffer as exposure to second-hand smoke harms around 600,000 people every year. This year the Day highlights the urgency of protecting children from interference by the tobacco industry. The most recent statistics estimate that there are at least 14 million young smokers in the world, between the ages of 13 and 15, and Italy has the sad distinction of being the European country where the most adolescents smoke (21%) compared to around 12% of the average of the 35 European countries.
The Addictions Service of the Asl Local Health Authority will raise awareness among the population on the topic:
- Tuesday 28 May, from 10 to 12 at the Casa della Salute in Canelli;
- Thursday 30 May, from 10am to 12pm at the Casa della Salute in Nizza Monferrato and from 9am to 2.30pm at the Cardinal Massaia Hospital.
