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The Sixth Risk Reduction Conference by NAPH (National Association of Public Health) gathered 200 participants. The hybrid organization (with presence in the hall and online) was led by the president of NAPH Adrian Hoxha, with speakers 6 of the most renowned health experts. Among them, one of the most respected personalities in the field of harm reduction in the world, Clive Bates.
Clive Bates, a tobacco harm reduction advocate since 1997, compared cigarette smoking to the most serious risk factors, clearly showing the high risk of burning cigarettes.
“Cigarette smoking has been and remains a major problem,” Bates said. More than obesity, alcohol, road accidents, drug abuse and HIV combined.
It can be compared to the magnitude of COVID-19, but it happens every year. “
The well-known expert also focused on smoking in Albania, noting the high percentage of men who smoke cigarettes.
“Cigarettes are a serious problem in Albania as well. […] “40% of men smoke cigarettes, according to a WHO estimate for 2022.”
Clive Bates explained that nicotine, although it is the reason that drives most people to smoke cigarettes, is not actually the leading cause of smoking-related illnesses.
“What causes these is smoke, tar, large particles, mistletoe, gases and fluids that we carry to the lungs, which also carry nicotine. “If we eradicate these, we will eradicate most of the diseases.”
Risk-reducing alternative products, which are seen by many world-renowned public health experts as a chance to quit smoking and reduce harm, convey nicotine without conveying harmful chemicals.
Clive Bates also focused on heating products, a new category of reduced-risk products that operate on the principle: heating, not burning, by heating the tobacco enough to absorb nicotine, but without emitting other chemicals. harmful found in cigarette smoke.
“In Japan, we are seeing a general decline in nicotine use, a decline in cigarette smoking and an increase in the use of heat products, indicating that cigarettes have been replaced by heat products.”
Well-known tobacco control expert Roland Shuperka focused on reducing tobacco harm through alternatives such as heating products.
“Harm reduction is a great opportunity for public health, especially when it comes to smoking,” said Shuperka. “And when it comes to harm reduction, we have new nicotine products that are less harmful. than traditional cigarettes. ”
Shuperka referred to examples from more developed countries regarding tobacco control policies, which include reduced-risk alternatives; countries such as the United Kingdom, New Zealand or the United States, where institutional support has been successful in replacing cigarettes with less harmful alternatives.
“The New Zealand Health Promotion Agency in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, for what we are doing here today, have launched a website that explains to all people who smoke cigarettes about new tobacco products, how they help and where they lead. ”
“In July 2020, the US Food and Drug Administration, FDA, authorized the commercialization of the IQOS heating product as a modified risk product. So the FDA paved the way for harm reduction through alternative products. ”
Shuperka thinks that the example of New Zealand should be followed, to make information available to adults who smoke cigarettes, as part of the health care chain.
“So we need transparency. We need to inform smokers, in the position of family doctor, to inform the public in order for these products to be less harmful, 95% less harmful according to Public Health England studies. ”
President of the Association for Infectious Diseases, Dr. Arjan Harxhi, focused his speech on the protection of health care workers at work.
“If it were a very topical issue regarding the application of these risk reduction concepts, it would be precisely the COVID situation, all the measures we take to prevent or reduce the transmission of COVID. damages. ”
“These types of infections affect both the infectious disease and the patient.”
Dr. Harxhi also spoke about the importance of screening healthcare workers for infections such as HIV, Hepatitis B and C, Pulmonary Tuberculosis, Varicella and Syphilis.
“Every health professional should be screened and vaccinated for Tuberculosis, Hepatitis B, Chickenpox, Mumps, Measles and Rubella and should be screened for Hepatitis C and HIV.”
From the Department of Family Physician at the University Hematology Clinic at Mother Teresa Hospital in Tirana, Prof. Dr. Polikron Pulluqi focused on reducing the damage for the elderly.
Using direct sentences about the delicate period of life, he explained the importance of reducing risk factors to maintain the health of our elderly relatives.
“Old age: a time of illness and disability, or a natural part of life to live?”, Asked Pulluqi, “When you are lucky, it is a natural part of life. “It’s lucky to be old, but not old.”
He focused on forms of reducing the risk of diseases such as osteoporosis, or even dementia, most common in the elderly. The doctor advised high physical and mental activity, as well as a balanced fiber diet. On the other hand, it did not diminish the importance of socialization, to reduce the risk of depression.
Jolanda Hyska, Associate Professor at the Department of Public Health at the University of Medicine of Tirana, focused on the importance of using iodized salt to reduce the risk of iodine deficiency.
She recalled 1993, when a study showed that 97% of the Albanian population had iodine deficiency, with almost 63% showing severe deficiency. Prior to the dire situation, public health experts took short-term measures to distribute iodine capsules, as well as a long-term harm reduction strategy: iodization of salt for daily consumption. The strategy was also reflected in a law on the salt we produce or import, which is required by law to have the right amounts of iodine, thus combating the iodine deficiency of the population.
Regarding the reduction of the risk of lifestyle-related vascular diseases, Associate Professor Edmond Zaimi mentioned the factors that affect heart health.
“Lifestyle affects vascular risk in the short and long term,” he said. “Regular physical activity, maintaining a healthy weight, eating healthy, not smoking and controlling cholesterol, blood pressure and glycemia, are some of the elements for an ideal cardiovascular health. ”
Also present at the conference were former Public Health students who are completing their doctorate abroad and have contributed specifically in the field of public health. Elida Sina, currently a public health student in Germany, said that her achievements so far are attributed to the support of NAPH. Erand Llanaj, a researcher at the Eötvös Loránd Research Network in Hungary, focused on the importance of cooperation when it comes to public health:
“Science is not an individual enterprise, but a cooperative one. “We have to start building bridges and tearing down walls between each other.”
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