World tobacco day, as observed on May 31st every year, is a crucial time for the healthcare professionals as we are responsible for propagating public health awareness.

Tobacco consumption is one of the leading causes of preventable deaths worldwide. Every year the death rate is increasing, posing a heavy burden for the healthcare professionals to combat the loss. The effects of tobacco consumption are enormous. Cancer, heart disease, respiratory disease and what not. Not only health, this dangerous consumption also affects the general well-being and mental health of an individual. Loss is a loss; we cannot bring back the normal biology of a patient.

How to bring these individuals out of this vicious world? It’s not just a habit, rather it has become a fashion for many youngsters to take up smoking. They are not mentally mature enough to understand the ill effects of smoking and how it will affect their education, profession and personal life.

So, this day, the World No Tobacco Day is a golden opportunity to spread awareness and help individuals to quit smoking, or maybe not to take up smoking either.

As doctors, we educate our patients, through clinic campaigns and social media presence by focusing on the risks of tobacco and helping them with the rehabilitation process to avoid hazardous health issues. Lot of doctors help through free interviews and camps.

It might be simple to say, but a lot to follow. We need to help people who are using tobacco with proper cessation support, peer support, behavioural therapy, creating a smoke free environment and celebrating milestones. Without these, it would be very difficult for someone to unfollow their addiction.

The main affirmation on World No Tobacco Day is to promote a tobacco free lifestyle and support a healthy life. The major goal is to bring out those groups of people who are under addiction and provide a smoke free future for the generations to come. Together, through collective action and determination of the healthcare system, we can head towards a world where tobacco-related diseases are a thing of the past, and no more a worry of the present.

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