Bangkok (NNT/VNA) - May 31 of every year is World No Tobacco Day. The Thai Ministry of Public Health this year will again join hands with partner agencies to organise campaigns encouraging Thai people to quit smoking.

The ministry’s activities for World No Tobacco Day this year will support the motto "Tobacco Burns Your Lungs," reflecting the aims of the first year when all World Health Organization member countries described the effects of tobacco smoke on a person’s lungs, encouraging smokers to quit, and communities to help create a smoke-free environment to help protect the health of the population, especially those non-smokers affected by the second-hand pollution of those around them who continue to smoke.

The Minister of Public Health, Piyasakol Sakolsatayadorn has disclosed that data from 2017 shows that smoking was a significant cause of illness and premature death of more than 100 persons. The government has put smoking prevention on the national agenda and joined hands with network agencies to discourage smoking, including the issuance of a ministerial announcement requiring public spaces and offices to become smoke-free areas at some 100 locations, to help protect the health of non-smokers.

The Department of Disease Control Director General, Suwannachai Wattanayingcharoenchai has pointed out that harm is caused by all kinds of tobacco products which affect the lungs of smokers and others nearby. About a hundred types of toxin from tobacco smoke immediately irritate and destroy functioning lungs, after even just a single inhalation, causing coughs, and breathing difficulties, as well as raising the possibility of infections and other health impairments. Smoking can cause serious illnesses such as cancer, emphysema, tuberculosis, and allergies. Smokers are urged to quit smoking to benefit their own health, and the health of others.-NNT/VNA