Smoke-free campaign targets six Yangon townships

A man smokes at a cigarette vendor in downtown Yangon. An anti-smoking campaign will take place in six townships in Yangon in September. Photo - EPA. Sketched by the Pan Pacific Agency.

YANGON, Jun 10, 2019, Myanmar Times. The People’s Health Foundation will conduct a anti-smoking campaign in six Yangon townships in September to raise public awareness about no-smoking zones and the dangers of smoking, a senior official of the group said, reported the Myanmar Times.

“These downtown townships must be smoke-free areas, according to the Control of Smoking and Consumption of Tobacco Product Law and we have the approval of Yangon Region’s social minister for the campaign,” said U Tin Kyaw Oo, project director of the non-governmental organisation.

The six townships targeted by the campaign are Botahtaung, Pazundaung, Pabedan, Latha, Lanmadaw and Dagon. The campaign will run through December 2020.

The foundation will carry out education and public awareness campaigns about non-smoking areas at hospitals, schools, universities, heritage sites and government offices.

It will conduct a survey before and after the project to gauge public awareness of tobacco-related health risks and the tobacco control law, and how to develop smoke-free areas.

The foundation will carry out the campaign according to WHO guidelines, in cooperation with the regional government, the mayor’s office, and township medical officers.

During the smoke-free Kyauktada township project in September 2018, public awareness of tobacco-free zones and knowledge of the tobacco control law was found to be 30pc in the pre-project survey. But the foundation expects that to rise to 85pc in the post-project survey, the results of which will be released later this month.

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