MORE health centres across Guyana will soon be equipped to offer nicotin- replacement therapy to further counter the dangers of smoking.

Since the launch of the first tobacco-cessation clinic in 2024, some additional 20 centres have been equipped to offer this service to anyone interested in quitting tobacco.

To supplement the existing facilities, the Ministry of Health will today, World No-Tobacco Day 2025, hand over nicotine-replacement therapy to health centres, starting with the addition of nicotine lozenges into the system.

This was according to Technical Officer for Tobacco Control, Dr. Sheliza Gopie, on a recent broadcast of ‘Health Matters’.

The hope is for this service to be available at every health centre countrywide by the end of the year.

Dr Gopie said that the nicotine-replacement therapy is to help those persons who may want to quit smoking, as they have not been successful with counselling alone. She added that the gum and nicotine patch will be added over time.

In addition, Dr Gopie mentioned that last year, they also visited schools in seven regions, where they interacted with over 5,000 students.

These students were interested in learning about the effects and dangers of not only cigarettes, but also new devices such as hookahs and e-cigarettes. Recently, the ministry completed training with persons across Guyana in tobacco cessation.

Help is provided to patients at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) Spirometery Department. They can be contacted on 227-2403. To join this clinic persons are required to have a referral from the health centres in their communities.

Additionally, there are a number of satellite stations with a spirometery clinic around the country.

Some of these are at the Festival City Health Centre, the Enmore Polyclinic, Kitty Health Centre, Campbellville Health Centre and the Industry Health Centre. Hospitals around the country also offer this service.

This includes the Diamond Diagnostic Centre, the West Demerara Regional Hospital, Linden Hospital and the New Amsterdam Hospital.

Taking a look at it globally, the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) says that an estimated 37 million children age 13 to 15 years use tobacco worldwide, and in several countries, the e-cigarette rate use among young people is greater than that of adults.

World No-Tobacco Day is observed on May 31, annually, and is being observed under the theme: ‘Unmasking the Appeal: Exposing Industry Tactics on Tobacco and Nicotine Products’. This year’s theme aims to reveal the strategies used by tobacco and nicotine industries to make their products enticing, to young people in particular.