HCM City (VNA) – Ho Chi Minh City’sDepartment of Health is planning to provide training on how to help localresidents quit smoking for staff at ward- and commune-level People’s Committees.

Dr Trinh Van Hiep, head of the municipal Department ofHealth’s the board on preventing harm caused by cigarette smoking, said thatit’s difficult for many people to quit smoking even if they want to.

Hiep said at a recent meeting on preventing the effects ofcigarettes that smokers need assistance from wards and communes involved in theprogramme.

After receiving consultations, smokers will be treated ateight hospitals in the city that provide this service, he said.

Knowledge along with determination and assistance are thekeys to quitting smoking, Hiep added.

The city also wants more wards and communes to becomesmoke-free, Hiep said, adding that communication activities would be carriedout at all households.

Each family member should have a deep understanding of theLaw on Tobacco Harm Control and Prevention and should encourage their relativesto quit or never begin smoking.

Residents will be told that if there is a pregnant woman orchildren in the family, smokers should go outside, and that smoking at partiesamong families should not be encouraged.

Owners of restaurants, hotels coffee shops, and productionworkshops in every ward and commune will be encouraged to ban smoking, he said.

According to a report from the health harm prevention board,24 wards and communes in the city are smoke-free.

“No Smoking” signs can be seen on many apartment buildings,hospitals, parks and other buildings.

Cigarettes should be sold only via retail regulated under theLaw on Tobacco Harm Control and Prevention, which means that sites sellingcigarettes should not advertise and sell to people under 18 years old.

The programme on preventing harm caused by cigarette smokingalso aims to continue developing smoke-free environments at hospitals, schools,and state offices. The city has more than 350 restaurants and hotels that bansmoking.

People’s committees in the city’s districts will set upinspection teams to check the implementation of the tobacco harm control andprevention programme. An interdisciplinary inspection team will be set up byApril this year.-VNA