Press Release: Smoke free Home Campaign Event

Choam Ksant District: On September 28, 2017, project EMBRACE (Enhancing Mother/Newborn/Child Health in Remote Areas through Health Care and Community Engagement), the project led by ADRA Canada and primarily funded by Canada’s International Development – Global Affairs Canada conducted an awareness meeting on Tobacco or Health, cooperating with the Provincial Health Department and the local authorities in Choam Ksant district, to promote the understanding and awareness to the community about the harmful effects of tobacco and the second hand smoke affecting especially children, unborn babies, and pregnant women, the key beneficiaries that EMBRACE project is targeting.

We were able to broadcast live on air via our project Radio program that was live at 10:00am-11:00am from the National Radio Station Phnom Tbeng FM 97.00 MHz. Participants came up and asked questions related to Tobacco or Health addressed immediately by Mr. Linh Yuth, deputy governor of Choam Ksant District, on site to the rest of the participants and the listeners to the Radio program. It was such an inspiring moment, when on air, the commune chief in Choam Ksant shared his story how he started smoking, then quit smoking, and how he has lived his healthy lifestyle ever since he has stopped smoking!

Approximately 350 persons joined the on-air awareness program including representative from the Provincial Health Department, from the Operational Health District, from all related departments around the district, local authority, commune people, teachers and students and ADRA team and partners. 

It is understood that tobacco harms health, economics, and the environment. And tobacco is also a danger factor that causes several non-communicable diseases such as having high blood pressure, stroke, heart attack, cancer, diabetes, etc.     

1.      Health: Every year tobacco kills more than 6 million people globally, and it will increase to above 8 million people in 2030 if there are no any intervention conducted. In Cambodia, our population is above 15 million people, and more than 2 million people are tobacco consumers (National Institute of Statistics, Ministry of Planning 2014), and among those 2 million people, ten thousand people die every year of this related diseases that are caused by tobacco (sources, Ministry of Health).

2.      Economics: According to the interview with several smokers, it is noted that the expense on buy the cigarette daily is equal to the expense on one meal! One smoker spent the money for 1 package of cigarette that cost 50 cents USD daily. So one year, he could spend 180 USD on cigarette. This interview is similar to the research on the total expense of Cambodians on the cigarette of above 200,000000 USD, and this amount of money can be used to purchase the good rice for above 30,0000 tons (National Institute of Statistics, Ministry of Planning). The research done by the National Center of Health Promotion of Ministry of Health shows that the expense on the treatment for five kinds of diseases that caused by using tobacco is above 162,000000 USD in 2013.

3.      Environment: Smoking in public harmfully affect both the smokers and those around! In addition, before the tobacco is used, it’s required to be dried and needs the wood from 20 to 25 meter cubes for one ton of tobacco!

Mr. Sem Rithy, Assistant EMBRACE Project Manager based in Choam Ksant district, welcomed participants and expressed appreciation for close cooperation with the Provincial Health Department and relevant provincial Departments in Choam Ksant District Hall to raise awareness about the harmful effect of tobacco on our health and promote smoke free homes. He explained that EMBRACE project works in Kampong Thom and Preah Vihear covering 168 villages in total will run until March 2020. Some key project activities are: to improve access to and quality of health services by:

      1. Constructing delivery and waiting rooms with medical equipment
 2. Training to medical staff and medical midwives related to Integrated Management of  
     Childhood Illness (IMCI).
 3. Conducting school youth health group
 4. Providing permaculture training to interest families
 5. Supporting on Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) and water filters
 6. Maternal and child health and nutrition and parenting

He stated that health is the key parts of the project activities and that it also includes the understanding of the harmful effects of tobacco and the second hand smoke affecting especially children, unborn babies, and pregnant women, the key beneficiaries that EMBRACE project is targeting!

Mr. Linh Yuth, deputy governor of Choam Ksant District, welcomed the participants including government officials, teachers and students from Choam Ksant High school, ADRA staff and partners, and the community members.

He said that this was the first time that Choam Ksant District Hall had an awareness program about the harmful effects of tobacco on health, economics and the environment and that this was a very important program for everyone to join! He shared tobacco products contain 7000 types of chemical substances that causes various diseases including disability. He stated more than 6 million people around the world die every year from tobacco-related diseases according to the report by Ministry of Health and World Health Organization (WHO). In Cambodia, our population is above 15 million people, and more than 2 million people are tobacco consumers (National Institute of Statistics, Ministry of Planning 2014), and among those 2 million people, ten thousand people die every year of this related diseases that are caused by tobacco (sources, Ministry of Health). So he encouraged all participants to pay attention to the program and the presentation made by the speakers and the facilitators on Tobacco or Health from ADRA Cambodia so that we may apply the practices in our daily living to promote health among our families in our homes and in our communities. He added that in this way we are contributing and supporting our Government in developing our country!

Mr. Ros Ravann, Tobacco or Health specialist from ADRA Cambodia presented about the harmful effects of tobacco on health

and demonstrated how tobacco affects the health of our body parts, and demonstrated its effects through an artificial lung. A group of ADRA local partners demonstrated how a family can live happily and in a healthy way by just simply stopping smoking!

For more information, please contact:
-Mr. Sem Rithy: EMBRACE Project Assistant Project Manager
Tel: 077 800013 | E-mail: rithys@adracambodia.org
-Mr. Monh Nhem: EMBRACE Project Assistant Project Manager
Tel: 012 952646 | E-mail: nhemm@adracambodia.org
-Mr. Kong Phano: Public Relations Coordinator, ADRA Cambodia
Tel: 077 398477 | E-mail: phanok@adracambodia.org