An Awareness Day Against Smoking, was held, Sunday in Carthage Park. It was attended by a large number of families and citizens of various age groups who participated in different sports and cultural activities in the presence of Youth and Sports Minister Kamel Déguiche and several local officials.
The event is meant to raise public awareness about the harmful effects of tobacco on health and the importance of physical activity to quit smoking, Director of Sports Activities at the Local Commission of Youth and Sports in Tunis Ali Gharbi told TAP.
The Health Ministry as well as the Youth and Sport Ministry are organising, on Sunday in collaboration with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Alliance Against Tobacco, an awareness day across the country under the theme of “Smoking, a Scourge, Physical Activity, a Cure”.
Tunisia is observing, on May 31, the World No Tobacco Day.
In Tunisia, tobacco addiction causes nearly 13,200 deaths/year or 20% of the total number of deaths in the country, it emerges from a 2019 medico-economic research on smoking (an average of 36 deaths per day).
The smoking rate among children aged 13 to 15 is 11.7 %, according to the results of a survey conducted in 2017 in cooperation with the WHO.
A health survey in 2016 showed the smoking rate in Tunisia for the over 15 over exceeded 25% (48.7% for men and 2.6% for women).
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse