AIIMS-Bhubaneswar opens tobacco cessation centre

BHUBANESWAR: AIIMS-Bhubaneswar on Wednesday opened a tobacco cessation centre (TCC) to provide specialised care to those who are habituated or addicted to smoking and smokeless tobacco.

Union minister for Health and Family Welfare JP Nadda inaugurated it in virtual mode as part of the Tobacco Free Youth Campaign 2.0. Through evidence-based behavioural intervention, the TCC will assist addicts visiting the hospital to quit tobacco and provide effective counselling to them. The TCC will be managed by psychiatrists and offer specialised treatments for both smoked and chewable forms of tobacco through medications and counselling.

Executive director of AIIMS Dr Ashutosh Biswas said, “Our services will involve follow-ups to examine the changes in the behaviour which will not only help tobacco users quit or reduce their addictions effectively but also maintain long-term and even permanent abstinence.”