Worldwide, campaigns are being held to make people aware of the dangers of smoking, for themselves and for others—often in a very graphical way.

No wonder, then, that the theme of this year’s world anti-tobacco day, celebrated on May 31, was tobacco-free youth.

For a long time, the ministry of health has focused its attention on preventing people from starting smoking as well as reducing second-hand smoking (non-smokers who inhale the smoke of another person’s cigarette), through warnings on cigarette packets and a smoking ban in public places.

Yet of late efforts are also being done to help people abandon tobacco, with the national psycho-social clinic being tasked with sensitizing and helping people who are willing to stop smoking.

According to Josée Nyetera Nyamutamba, the head therapist at the clinic, people start smoking due to different reasons such as peer group pressure, stress, tradition or anger. But for one to stop smoking, on the other hand, it begins with self-motivation--which requires the strong urge to quit the habit.

Currently, the psycho-social clinic uses individual therapy because there are still very few people who come and seek help. “We have two people qualified in therapeutic treatment, which at this moment is enough because we still receive few people who have been smoking for years,” Nyamutamba says.

She adds, however, that the clinic plans to increase its capacity so as to be able to handle as many people as possible, given that their number is likely to increase once the sensitization campaign takes effect. They further plan to decentralize the process and make therapists available at the district level to bring the services closer to the population.

As for the treatment itself, there are two options: those who only need therapeutic counseling to quit smoking, and those who need drugs in addition to the therapy. “The latter are usually long-time smokers who have become addicted,” Nyamutamba explains.

The drugs treatment consists of giving the tobacco addicts small, controlled amounts of nicotine they can take when the urge to smoke becomes unbearable. They are dispensed either through chewing gum, patches containing nicotine that is absorbed the skin, and nicotine inhalers.

Although it might seem strange to help people quit smoking by giving them nicotine, the chief therapist explains that the problem with long-time smokers is that their body craves the tobacco, so sheer willpower alone will not allow them to stop. Therefore, the nicotine is supplied in controlled measures, which are gradually reduced.

Josée Nyetera Nyamutamba further points out that tobacco, especially cigarettes, contain about 4,000 different chemicals which can cause a wide range of diseases ranging such as cancer, bronchitis and many other respiratory diseases.

“People usually don’t know about the side effects that tobacco can have,” Nyamutamba says.

The psycho-social clinic, which was initially set up to deal with mental illnesses given the big number of people traumatized by the genocide, has only been dealing with tobacco quitters for four months, so only few people know about it. Yet the clinic plans to begin sensitizing the population on the service.

“We begun working on tobacco back in February, and we are now planning a country wide sensitization,” the chief therapist remarks.

And although the clinic currently does not have a special program targeting the youth, Nyamutamba recognizes that they should pay special attention to them during the sensitization.

Indeed, statistics show that in 2006, 24% of the youth smoked. Yet Bonaventure Nizeyimana, in charge of infectious diseases at the ministry of health, points out that that figure might not be accurate anymore. “We believe that the percentage has already increased, though we do not have the current figures.”

Nizeyimana further points to the problem of passive (second-hand) smokers, who are affected as much as those who smoke. He especially mentions the situation of parents who smoke at home in the presence of their children.

“There are parents who smoke in their houses, and this has adverse effects especially on the kids who can suffer from many respiratory diseases,” he says.

Yet it is not only the existing children that suffer, Nizeyimana warns. Tobacco can have grave effects on unborn babies, he says, which are usually seen at an early stage. Moreover, tobacco can affect the ovum and damage sperms, thus potentially leading to barrenness.

Bonaventure Nizeyimana thinks that there has been some improvement on the side of the ministry of health in terms of stopping people from smoking in public areas. “As you can see yourself, nobody smokes in public areas such as offices, shopping malls and other places where people gather.”

Furthermore, he remarks that it was important for the ministry to stop tobacco companies from advertising, so as not to lure more people into smoking. Especially the youth, who are the current target for tobacco companies, since they are tomorrow’s smokers.