To address the significant public health concern of tobacco addiction, AIIMS-Delhi is opening a Tobacco Cessation Clinic (TCC). This weekly clinic, which will begin on September 10 and take place every Tuesday at the New Rajkumari Amrit Kaur OPD building, is designed to assist those who are battling tobacco dependence. This project, which is a component of the larger “Tobacco-Free AIIMS” program, is the result of cooperation between the AIIMS Department of Pulmonary, Critical, and Sleep Medicine and the National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre (NDDTC).
The OPD building’s fifth level, rooms 519 and 526, are where the TCC will be located. Its services will start at 8:30 am, and patients who are recommended or walk-in can register on the ground floor of the A-Wing. The clinic is set up to provide a variety of services, such as psychological therapies, medication therapy, and relapse prevention techniques. The goal of this all-encompassing strategy is to help people give up tobacco smoking, which is still a major contributor to lung cancer and other respiratory conditions like Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).
The TCC, according to Dr. M Srinivas, Director of AIIMS-Delhi, is a big step in the right direction toward establishing a healthy atmosphere and helping the institution reach its tobacco-free mission. This program complies with the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), which highlights the significance of tobacco cessation services, and the goals of the National Tobacco Control Programme (NTCP).
Additionally, the clinic will provide AIIMS-Delhi medical and nursing students with instruction and training to assist them comprehend the difficulties and methods involved in quitting smoking. The fact that tobacco use is a leading preventable cause of death worldwide, accounting for over 8 million deaths annually—more than 1.3 million of which occur in India alone—makes the opening of this clinic all the more important.
The Global Adult Tobacco Survey 2 (GATS-2) estimates that 28.6% of Indian individuals who are 15 years of age or older currently use tobacco products. Even though many people (55.4% of smokers and 49.7% of users of smokeless tobacco) wish to stop, many find it difficult to do so without expert assistance. By offering the assistance required to help individuals kick their tobacco addiction and lessen the burden of tobacco use on public health, the TCC seeks to close this gap.
SOURCE :
THE PRINT
