May 22, 2017,
Cairo –The American University in Cairo (AUC) recently launched Break the Habit anti-smoking campaign
on campus. The campaign is the result of a joint effort
between the AUC clinic and the Parents Association at the University and aims at raising awareness about the negative effects of smoking on both smokers and those
around them through secondhand smoke.
The initiative uses
posters, informative quotes, articles on social media, interactive booths and
more to raise awareness of the dangers of smoking, such as lung or larynx
cancer, decreased fertility, bronchial asthma, heart disease and more.
As noted by Dr. Mohamed
Amin, head of the Office of Medical Services at AUC, “At AUC, we care for the
students not only academically, but in every perspective,” he said. Regarding
the name of the campaign, Dr. Amin stated that “breaking the habit is the most
important step in ending any bad habit. Change has to be abrupt and not
gradual. Smokers have to wake up in the morning and decide to simply break the
habit. That's what our campaign stands for.”
After meeting with Dr.
Amin, the Parents Association decided they, too, needed to participate in the
campaign. “Specifically, Abdel Ghaffar emphasized that the Parents Association
strives to increase the awareness and attendance of the anti-smoking clinic on
campus, which helps the AUC community quit smoking through psychological help
and beyond. The Parents Association also hopes to educate parents on the
harmful effect of smoking through lectures that they plan to have with Dr Amin.
As Abdel Ghaffar noted, “this will create a coherent environment centered on
the goal of having students reject smoking. We also plan to have parents
volunteer to help us in all our activities, thus increasing the involvement of
parents.”
Abdel Ghaffar also
explained that in order to understand more about why students “accept smoking
as a fact of life,” they have worked through a market research course to
conduct research on how students first begin smoking, what triggers them to
smoke on campus and what will make them stop or think about quitting.
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