ADRA Cambodia Partners with the Military Health Department in Phnom Penh to Raise Awareness on World No Tobacco Day

The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) has been celebrating World No Tobacco Day since May 1998 in cooperation with the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education Youth and Sport and the World Health Organization.

Since the global focus in 2009 is “Tobacco Health Warnings”, ADRA Cambodia held 2009 World No Tobacco Day activities through joint action with the Military health department at Preah Ket Melea hospital. Two hundred persons participated in a program on 28 May, 2009 coming from the Ministry of Information, the Royal Cambodia Army, the Royal Cambodia Air Force, the Royal Cambodia Navy, the Military Health Department, the Preah Ket Melea hospital, the World Health Organization and other NGOs.

The chairmen of the program shared that tobacco is the leading preventable cause of death in the world which causes more than 5 million deaths each year worldwide.  Having Health warnings with both text and images on tobacco products packaging is critical to any effective tobacco control strategy.

The warning can 1)increase public awareness of the serious health risks of tobacco use, 2)motivate smokers to reduce or quit using tobacco, 3) help people who can not read to understand health risks of tobacco use and 4) detract from the overall attractiveness of tobacco packaging and thus act as a deterrent to new users, who are often young.  H.E. Su Sum, Under Secretary of the Ministry of Information, supported having the health warnings on tobacco packets and also expressed willingness to see the banning on all kinds of tobacco advertisements through radio news paper, magazine, banner as well as on TV.

In addition to the program, ADRA also organized broadcasts on 5 TV stations, 2 radio stations, information in 4 newspapers and one hour long live radio talk show about the World No Tobacco Day event to target the policy market and Cambodia public.

ADRA in Cambodia is working in Tobacco Control in partnership with the Ministry of Health and other non government organizations and is funded by the Canadian International Development Agency through ADRA Canada in the Cambodian Action for Policy on Smoking and Health project.