Üsküdar University, which took the first step towards becoming a “Smoke-Free Campus” last January, started its training activities within this scope. Within the scope of the project carried out with the aim of a Smoke-Free University, Prof. Dr. Toker Ergüder, World Health Organization Executive and Green Crescent Scientific Board member, delivered a presentation titled ‘Prevention, Control, and Treatment of Tobacco and Tobacco Product Use: World Health Organization Practices’ to students of the Faculty of Medicine and the Faculty of Health Sciences. Ergüder stated that they are looking for young healthcare professionals to assist them in this fight.
Prof. Dr. Hikmet Koçak: “Just as important as breath is, so is smoke-free air”
In his speech before the lecture, Prof. Dr. Hikmet Koçak stated that one of the substances negatively affecting health is cigarette use; “Well-being and health are very important. One of the substances that affects our health the most is cigarettes. It contains thousands of harmful substances. We can harm ourselves, but the real harm we inflict is upon society. If we think on a slightly larger scale, we are talking about a substance that is harmful to almost all living beings in the name of ecological balance, not just humans. You will be ambassadors; starting with yourselves, you will then operate within your university and surroundings. Breath is very important. Everyone felt this during the pandemic. During that period, it was as if you had sunk to the bottom of the sea and couldn't surface. That's why, just as important as breath is, so is smoke-free air.” he said.
Prof. Dr. Toker Ergüder: “Doctors smoking is an advertisement for cigarette companies”
Ergüder made striking statements about the smoking rates among doctors; “We do not want doctors to smoke. Doctors smoking is a huge advertisement for cigarette companies. Unfortunately, the smoking rate among healthcare professionals in Turkey is very high. Especially among female doctors, the smoking rate is higher than in the general population. While the smoking rate among doctors in Turkey is approximately 20%, in Australia, it is below 1%. That is, doctors there do not smoke. In America, when you go to all universities and enter campuses, no one thinks of smoking. If knowledge alone made people quit smoking, doctors would be the first to stop. If doctors still smoke after all these anatomy, physiology, chest diseases, cancer, etc., lessons, it means that knowledge does not always create attitudes and behaviors in people.” he said.
Prof. Dr. Toker Ergüder: “The main reason for the spread of tobacco is the tobacco industry”
Ergüder, speaking about the concept of tobacco control, underlined that deaths related to smoking would decrease thanks to this control. Ergüder; “Tobacco use is the most important preventable cause of death in the world and our country. We can express this situation as tobacco control. Because Turkey's most important and preventable public health problem is tobacco use. The main reason for the tobacco epidemic and its spread is the tobacco industry. For example, there is no industry behind spreading malaria, but there is an industry behind spreading this tobacco 'germ'. Unfortunately, this industry tries to make everyone addicted and profit. There are very effective methods to prevent the epidemic. We must implement these methods.” he said.
Prof. Dr. Toker Ergüder: “The main addictive substance in cigarettes is nicotine”
Ergüder, talking about the structure and harms of cigarettes; “It is tobacco, a poisonous plant, compressed and wrapped in a thin paper. It contains 3 substances: carbon monoxide, nicotine, and tar. Its main addictive substance is nicotine. The others are cancer-causing substances. Cigarette smoke contains over 6,000 harmful chemical substances, 50 of which are known carcinogens. Both active smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke cause diseases in people's bodies. When you inhale cigarette smoke, it goes to the lungs, mixes with the blood, and is then excreted as nicotine in the urine. It causes cancer and various diseases in all organs it reaches.” he concluded.
Prof. Dr. Haydar Sur: "Cigarettes are the biggest disaster created by human hands"
Prof. Dr. Haydar Sur, Head of the Üsküdar University Smoke-Free Campus Board, stated that "Cigarettes are the biggest disaster created by human hands" and delivered his closing speech by thanking the students for their interest in the topics of "Smoke-Free Campus" and "Smoke-Free Airspace."
The program ended after a commemorative photo shoot.