Press Release ADRA Cambodia Celebrates World No Tobacco Day 2019 By CHOICES for Children Project Bakan district, Pursat Province May 31, 2019 “Tobacco and Lung Health” is the theme of the World No Tobacco Day 2019 campaign in Bakan district, Pursat province by the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) Cambodia CHOICES for Children project province area. “Every year, on 31 May, the World Health Organization (WHO) and global partners celebrate World No Tobacco Day. The annual campaign is an opportunity to raise awareness on the harmful and deadly effects of tobacco use and secondhand smoke exposure, and to discourage the use of tobacco in any form. The focus of World No Tobacco Day 2019 is on "tobacco and lung health." The campaign will increase awareness on: The negative impact that tobacco has on people’s lung health, from cancer to chronic respiratory disease The fundamental role lungs play for the health and well-being of all people The campaign also serves as a call to action, advocating for effective policies to reduce tobacco consumption and engaging stakeholders across multiple sectors in the fight for tobacco control.” [https://www.who.int/campaigns/world-no-tobacco-day/world-no-tobacco-day-2019] ADRA Cambodia’s World No Tobacco Day campaign in Pursat was held on May 31 with 200 participants. This started with participants marching from 4 villages in different corners, passing 2 markets and meeting together at Thar Keo pagoda in Tropang Chorng commune, Bakan district, Pursat province. Participants, including high school students, teachers, health center staff, Operational Health District staff, village and commune facilitators, policemen and local authorities, carried banners displaying related key messages and slogans. They wore t-shirts and distributed leaflets and posters which all had messages about how tobacco destroys lung. Participants chanted the slogans on the banners they carries such as “Don’t Let Tobacco Take Your Breath Away” “Choose Health Not Tobacco”, “Stop Smoking For the sake of your family’s and community’s Health”.
Mr. Rith Saray, the CHOICES for Children project manager addressed participants about the bad impact of tobacco use of Cambodian people in the city and countryside. He said that because of the harmful effects of tobacco use, people have to give up using tobacco and instead choose health for oneself and one’s family. He also expressed appreciation to community partners, local authorities and ADRA staff that often raise awareness on the harmful effects of tobacco use in Pursat, especially in villages in Bakan district. Mr Phai Leng, the district governor of Bakan, expressed the willingness of local authorities to work closely with ADRA CHOICES for Children project to raise awareness on harmful effects of tobacco use. The local authorities showed strong commitment to work closely with ADRA to reduce the number of people who use tobacco through various project activities and awareness campaigns. ADRA Cambodia believes that this year’s World No Tobacco Day’s campaign will help more in reducing the number of smokers throughout Cambodia and in Pursat province and promote a healthy life without SMOKE. In the end we all were very excited to hear a commitment and see the decision being made when a man stood up and spoke, "I will stop smoking from today and I will save the money I used to spend on buying cigarettes to support my family...!"
Child Health Outcomes Improved through Community Empowered Solutions (CHOICES for Children) project, administered by ADRA Cambodia, is an Australian aid project, funded by the Australian Government.
For more information, please contact: 1. Mr. Rithy Saray: Project Manager of CHOICES for Children, ADRA Cambodia Tel: 012 788 835 ; Email: sarayr@ADRAcambodia.org 2. Mr. Kong Phano: Public Relations Coordinator, ADRA Cambodia Tel: 077 398 477 ; Email: phanok@ADRAcambodia.org