Those who want to quit smoking can get professional help at the VSMMC for free. | file photo
Cebu City, Philippines—Smokers who want to quit smoking can now seek professional help for free.
The Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC) will launch and open a smoking cessation clinic on May 31, 2019.
Dr. Juanito Zuasola Jr., smoking cessation specialist of VSMMC, told reporters that the clinic is located at the Out-Patient Department (OPD) building of the hospital.
“The clinic is open on Thursday and Friday, from 1:30 pm to 4:00 pm,” Zuasola said.
Zuasola clarified that VSMMC had already been offering smoking cessation services in the past years.
Patients who will decide to quit smoking will undergo intensive counselling and medications for free.
But Zuasola said patients would still be required to buy their own nicotine patches, since that said product is not yet available in local markets.
A nicotine patch is a nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) product that is designed to help a person quit smoking.
“They can still buy this product online at P500 per ten pieces,” he added.
He said that based on a study, seven out of ten persons who are addicted to smoke wants to quit but don’t know where to go or whom to approach.
He said that a stick of cigarette contains around 7,100 harmful chemicals which may lead to smoking-related diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, stroke, and tuberculosis.
Currently, Zuasola said that he has around seven patients who are undergoing counselling and medication and are now abstinent from nicotine addiction.
He added that based on the Global Adult Tobacco Survey in 2009, there were around 17 million nicotine addicts in the Philippines. In 2015, this number has reduced to 16 million. /bmjo