On May 27th, the second edition of the ” Smoke-Free Hospital” event was held, organized every two years by the Germans Trias i Pujol Hospital as part of Smoke-Free Week, which takes place around World No Tobacco Day, on May 31st.
After attending the first edition two years ago, this year the Tobacco Control Unit (UCT) has had a prominent participation with two presentations. On the one hand, Montse Ballbè was in charge of giving the inaugural conference, focused on the impact of tobacco consumption on people with mental disorders, as well as the evolution and approach of this problem in mental health facilities in Catalonia during the last decade. On the other hand, Jassia Zafar presented the European project PIECES , led by the UCT. This project aims to facilitate the transfer of scientific evidence into practice in relation to cancer risk factors, such as tobacco, both in healthcare settings and companies.
The day had several panels. The first one began by showing the experience in addressing tobacco in the hospital’s mental health unit and in a mental health unit belonging to the penitentiary services, and ended with a summary and reflection on the different ways in which we can intervene in this consumption. Then, in the second panel, preventive initiatives in Primary Care were presented and the lung cancer screening program of the Germans Trias i Pujol Hospital was described. In the second part of the day, the Zero project was introduced, a youth association committed to a society free of tobacco and nicotine, and to finish, the new tobacco or nicotine products and the new and revolutionary therapies for lung cancer that have contributed to improving patient survival were presented.
The day was closed by Irma Casas, head of the Preventive Medicine Service, and Isabel Andrés, director of nursing at the hospital.
