DHS mulls tobacco cessation units

DHS mulls tobacco cessation units
HERALD REPORTER
PANJIM, NOV 7
While Directorate of Health Service (DHS) has already put in place “Tobacco Control Cells (TCC)” at two of its district hospitals in each district – it now plans to have tobacco cessation units at Primary Health Centres (PHC) across the State.
Dr Ravindra Nadkarni, Nodal Officer for implementation of Control of Tobacco Products Act (COPTA) said , tobacco cessions units at PHC will focus on providing counselling to tobacco patients to help them break free from the habit.
Meanwhile, its TCC functioning at Asilo Hospital in Mapusa and Hospital are regularly screen patients to detect tobacco users and counsel them.
Between November 2009 and April 2010, TCC at Hospicio Hospital screened 205 patients . Out of which 114 were detected to be tobacco patients. This included 94 males and 20 females and 18 were found to be highly tobacco depended cases, informed Dr Nadkarni.
During counselling period 19 patients were reported to have kicked out the habit, he adds.
Whereas TCC at Asilo Hospital screened 724 general patients between January and June 2010 and detected 368 tobacco patients.
Screening of patients at district hospitals also showed that the rate of tobacco chewers was higher than that of smokers.
Of the 368 tobacco patients detected at Asilo Hospital, 240 turned out to be tobacco chewers whereas the number of smokers was 128, he informed Dr Nadkarni.