The Canary Islands Health Service aspires to ensure that no tobacco products are consumed on the islands' beaches and bathing areas, for which it wants to "inform and raise awareness" among people, in collaboration with the Canary Islands Federation of Municipalities (Fecam).
The elimination of "this toxic pollutant from our beaches and bathing areas" is one of the projects being developed within the promotion of smoke-free spaces, as reported by the SCS on the occasion of the commemoration of World No Tobacco Day, which is celebrated on May 31 and this year's theme is "Tobacco poisons our planet."
The World Health Organization (WHO) campaign focuses on the environmental impact of tobacco consumption and, in particular, the harm caused by cigarette butts as an environmental pollutant, given that the filters retain remnants of 7,000 toxic substances and contain cellulose acetate, a microplastic that is difficult to biodegrade.
Two-thirds of cigarette butts end up in the environment, and ultraviolet light fragments the components into small plastic strands that can be ingested by mollusks and coastal fish, thus introducing these toxins into the food chain.
According to data from the Canary Islands Smoker Assistance Program (PAFCAN), in which 1,800 SCS professionals participate, nearly 9,100 people have started treatments to quit smoking in the last two years.
The proportion of patients who have completed treatment and manage to remain smoke-free for at least six months is 41 percent, and the chances of successfully quitting smoking for people who seek help from their primary care doctor or nurse are multiplied by four after one year, according to the SCS.
According to the 2020 European Health Survey, it is estimated that 22% of the population over 15 years of age smokes in the Canary Islands (25.8 percent of men and 18.2 percent of women).
Treatments to quit smoking have public funding and are coordinated by the General Directorate of Public Health with the collaboration of all Health Areas, the General Directorate of Healthcare Programs, and the official colleges of pharmacists.
Since January 2020, two drugs to help quit smoking have been financed in Spain, and nicotine replacement therapy has been added in the Canary Islands.
Specialists emphasize that consuming tobacco is harmful in any of its forms.
In the tobacco program of the General Directorate of Public Health, three main areas have been established, one of them being the promotion of smoke-free spaces through the Canary Islands Smoke-Free Beaches Program project.
The second area is the prevention of consumption, with the ITESplus Program or Intervention on Smoking in Secondary Education, with interactive workshops, in which 73 educational centers have participated in the 2021-2022 academic year.
The third area is the promotion of health through the strategy of the Circles of Healthy Living, to encourage smokers to make a serious attempt to quit smoking, and the Canary Islands Smoker Assistance Program. EFE
