Dubai: The UAE health authorities are stepping up efforts to combat smoking among citizens and residents.
The Ministry of Health and Prevent launched a six-week programme which to train 500 medical and health professionals on practical skills to administer smoke cessation services across clinics and health care centres.
The training programme was developed according to international standards and guidelines, encompassing the latest treatment methodologies available.
A UAE National Health Survey revealed that the rate of smoking among adults has dropped to 18 per cent since 2010.
According to the survey, the prevalence of tobacco use among both sexes accounted for 9.1 per cent of the population - 15.7 per cent and 2.4 per cent for men and women, respectively.
Prevalence of tobacco use is an indicator that measures the daily consumption of cigarettes and tobacco products among different segments of society of different ages.
A recent World Health Organisation (WHO) revealed that there are an estimated 1.1 billion smokers worldwide - 80 per cent of whom live in low- and middle-income countries.
The WHO report noted significant progress towards smoking cessation policies implemented by governments, including the UAE - which scored nine out of 10 (the highest possible compliance score) for setting smoke-free policies.
The UAE also attained a 'complete policy' rating for its smoking cessation programmes.
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