By Lenah Bosibori
Nairobi, Kenya: Scientists in Nairobi are calling on the Kenyan government to come up with policies that will help smokers quit or reduce smoking.
Speaking in Nairobi recently, Dr. Michael Kariuki from the University of Nairobi Faculty of Medicine said that many youths have become addicted to smoking and the only way to rescue them is by coming up with policies that will help quit little by little.
“Smoking is addictive, youths will not come out in public to say they are smoking, only elderly will do, we as scientists want to call upon the people to quit because of the effects experienced.
According to Kariuki, as healthcare workers, they are concerned about the effects of tobacco since it is a silent killing pandemic that smokers don’t know.
“We are telling Kenyans to stop smoking, even if the rates are going down worldwide, the numbers of smokers have increased,” added Kariuki.
Smoking incidence in Kenya is approximately 10 percent, but in some countries it is high.
Kariuki urged people to drop the attitude of quit or die, he termed it as not offering any solution to smokers instead causing more harm.
“Let’s give options to smokers because quitting is done once but little by little, as a harm reduction strategy we must offer treatment options together with other medication,” added Kariuki.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has not revised downwards its estimate that one billion lives could be lost to smoking-related disease by the end of the century but according to scientists, the number might be high globally.
They also urged people to switch to safer products that will help them quit smoking and use evidence-based policy intervention.
