Gwangju Seo-gu 'Visiting Mobile Smoking Cessation Clinic' Receives Positive Response

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Shin Dong-ho] The Seo-gu District Office in Gwangju Metropolitan City is receiving great responses and producing positive results with its ‘Visiting Mobile Smoking Cessation Clinic’ operated for companies wishing to quit smoking.

According to Seo-gu on the 21st, the Visiting Mobile Smoking Cessation Clinic has been operating since 2005 to eliminate time and distance constraints for workers employed at companies and to enable more smokers to use smoking cessation counseling services.

As of 2020, the overall smoking rate in Seo-gu was 18.9%, and the smoking rate among adult males was 36.2%, which increased by 1.1% and 2.7% respectively compared to the previous year.

The exposure rate to secondhand smoke in the workplace was also 10.8%, up 1.9% from the previous year, while the smoking cessation success rate was 33.6%, indicating the need for active smoking cessation initiatives to reduce smoking rates and prevent secondhand smoke exposure.

Seo-gu provides systematic smoking cessation services by having smoking cessation counselors visit companies directly to assess smokers’ nicotine dependence and smoking types, offering one-on-one counseling as well as smoking cessation aids and behavioral reinforcement items.

Additionally, on February 21 and June 9, counseling and smoking cessation education were conducted at Coupang Gwangju 2 Camp, and on the 16th at Kumho World, encouraging registration for the smoking cessation clinic.

A worker who succeeded in quitting smoking said, “Through counseling, I strengthened my will to quit smoking and was able to succeed with encouragement. Not only my health but also my relationships with my spouse and children, with whom I had conflicts due to smoking, have improved, making me happy.”

The Seo-gu Public Health Center plans to provide smoking cessation programs and management services through non-face-to-face counseling such as phone calls until success is achieved for those who find it difficult to visit the health center.

For more details, please contact the Seo-gu Public Health Center Smoking Cessation Clinic.

Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Shin Dong-ho sdhs6751@asiae.co.kr

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.