Yüksekova, Turkey launches tobacco‑cessation outreach campaign

Health teams from the Yüksekova District Health Directorate, including Dr. Zeyd Kasım and nurse‑midwife Zekiye Geylani, set up information stalls on busy streets and visited parks to warn residents about the dangers of tobacco use. The volunteers distributed brochures, explained that more than 8 million people die annually from tobacco‑related disease and that over 1 million deaths are among non‑smokers exposed to second‑hand smoke, and they invited smokers to a free, one‑on‑one smoking‑cessation clinic. Geylani highlighted immediate health benefits of quitting, noting that heart rate and blood pressure normalize within 20 minutes, carbon‑monoxide levels return to normal after 12 hours, and the risk of heart disease is halved within a day. The campaign also detailed the systemic harms of smoking, including cardiovascular disease, chronic obstructive lung disease, multiple cancers, infertility, and risks to pregnancy.