KUWAIT: Chairman of the Board of Kuwait Society for Preventing Smoking and Cancer (KSPSC) Dr Khalid Al-Saleh confirmed on Tuesday the interest of the state of Kuwait in combating smoking and exerting efforts to cooperate with all regional, governmental and civil organizations to address this scourge harmful to society. Dr Al-Saleh’s statement came during a press conference held to launch the Arab Award for smoking control "Makeen” in Cairo where KSPSC has joined the prize, which is the first of its kind in the Arab World.
The award which came at the initiative of the Arab Federation for Human Development aims at consolidating Arab efforts to take unprecedented measures to fight smoking with encouraging innovation in confronting smoking lesion. Dr Al-Saleh said the society’s membership in the award is the result of Kuwait’s interest in and work at the government and private sector levels to fight smoking. He said this interest materialized by the establishment of the society since 1980 by the late Dr Abdulrahman Abdullah Al-Awadhi and other founders who laid the first cornerstone in fighting smoking in the State of Kuwait.
He also pointed to the establishment of the National Program for Fighting Smoking at Health Ministry, which has an effective and continued role in this field with many specialists and volunteers. That is why the society was keen on being present regionally to instill its work at this level side by side with specialized regional entities in order to gather efforts to implement a joint strategy professionally to achieve joint work to show Arab competencies at various levels. Awareness campaigns Award Secretary General Dr Jameela Nasser Amin said the Arab representation in the prize affirms concerted Arab efforts to fight this dangerous and harmful phenomenon.
She added the award’s message is represented in controlling smoking in the Arab world. Its vision revolves around creating a society that’s motivated to fight against smoking. She said work is ongoing through the Award to declare the launch of the Arab campaign for smoking control and to instill the cooperation principle and exchange expertise among Arabs. The award aims to set effective standards to plan and implement smoking control campaigns and measure their performance, in addition to enriching the Arab library with material, research and tools to combat this lesion in various fields.
The award has a large group of partners including the Council of Arab Economic Unity, World Society for Preventive Cardiology, Arab Medical Association Against Cancer and Kuwait Society for Preventing Smoking and Caner. "Makeen” committee selects those who deserve the Smoking Control Award based on standards that were set to allow participation of all sectors and individuals. He said the award will be launched annually and awarded to establishments and individuals who participate with the best activities and achievements that support a healthy life and fighting smoking.
The Award has 11 categories: Short Film, moving graphics, animation; photographs/art drawings; long movies, series and plays; legislations and systems/implementation of procedures; the best charity society/scientific society/NGO; best program for training and qualifying; best smoking quitting services; best research and studies; best awareness project for school students; smoke-free universities; smart applications.