On the eve of ‘World No Tobacco Day-2018’, the Final year PharmD students at Gulf Medical University’s College of Pharmacy organized a Community Engagement activity at the Thumbay Clinic, Rashid Bin Humeed Street, Ajman, on May 31, 2018. The objective of the program was to promote population health and educate the general public on harmful effects of tobacco containing products, and to offer viable strategies for smoking cessation.
During the event, students displayed educational posters, distributed medicine information pamphlets made in both English and Arabic languages, and interacted with the patients and patient attendants visiting the clinic. Students also demonstrated harmful effects of smoking using a ‘smoker’s lung model’ that differentiated a smoker’s lung from that of a normal lung. In addition, students provided information related to harmful effects of smoking in pregnancy, passive smoking and its negative health consequences, electronic cigarettes, use of nicotine patch and other related information within the scope of the event. This event was an excellent training opportunity for GMU Doctor of Pharmacy students to prepare them as communicators, educators and health promoters.