The award ceremony of the poster competition themed "Smoking and Heart Health" was held in the 75th Year Conference Hall of the GU Faculty of Medicine, in cooperation with the Turkish Respiratory Research Association (TÜSAD), Gazi University Faculty of Fine Arts.
Speaking at the opening of the ceremony, TÜSAD Tobacco Working Group President Prof. Dr. Nazmi Bilir said that cigarettes are the biggest enemy of human beings, and that approximately 7 million people worldwide die every year as a result of smoking-related diseases.
“In our country, one person dies every 5 minutes, that is, 300 people a day”
Emphasizing that 120,000 people die every year in Turkey due to smoking, Bilir said, "In our country, one person dies every 5 minutes, that is, 300 people a day." Bilir pointed out that besides the health aspect, smoking has serious economic consequences, and shared the following information:
“More than 18 million people smoke in Turkey. These people spend 85 billion liras each year to buy cigarettes. This money is spent on getting sick. From an individual perspective, the problem is huge. Because when 20 cigarettes are smoked a day for 20 years, a person spends about 100 thousand liras. According to the records, 17 thousand people died in the earthquake that took place 20 years ago. In the same year, 100,000 people died due to smoking. It has been 20 years since the earthquake and there was no earthquake of that magnitude, but 100 thousand people continued to die every year due to smoking.”
prof. Dr. Bilir underlined that smoking must be terminated so that smoking does not take more lives, and emphasized that awareness activities should continue without losing speed for this.
“The same message should be sent to the same target audience”
Haci Bayram Veli University Faculty of Fine Arts Faculty Member Prof. Dr. Çiğdem Demir, on the other hand, emphasized that she is also an anti-smoking person and expressed that she is proud to be a part of the studies carried out to increase social awareness.
Demir stated that they will continue to be involved in such studies and made the assessment that the majority of the society is passive smokers even if they are not active users. Demir said, “When I went to the doctor, 'Do you smoke?' When I say that I am a passive smoker. Because no matter where we go, there is always someone smoking next to us," he said.
Emphasizing that efforts should continue for this to change, Demir said, “For this, the same message should be sent to the same target audience. The same message should be given everywhere, including on social media and rackets at the bus stops, maybe sweet, maybe harsh, maybe laughing, maybe thinking.
“Electronic cigarettes threaten health as much as cigarettes”
Haci Bayram Veli University Faculty of Fine Arts Dean Prof. Dr. Selçuk Şener also expressed his happiness to be a part of the organization, which also includes universities. Expressing that studies are carried out under the Presidency of Visual Communication Design Department, Şener said that valuable works have emerged.
Gazi University Faculty of Medicine Dean Prof. Dr. Mehmet Sadık Demirsoy, on the other hand, drew attention to electronic cigarettes and similar products, the frequency of use of which has increased in recent years.
Demirsoy underlined that these products threaten health at least as much as cigarettes.
He also made statements about the effect of smoking on genetics.
“Maybe it will destroy humanity in 300-500 years”
Demirsoy said, “When smoking, the poison of the cigarette affects reproductive cells like sperm and opens oncogenes. That is, it causes your great-grandchildren to have cancer. This is a situation that has emerged in the last 2 years. This accumulated influence will perhaps destroy humanity in 300-500 years. We are in such a great danger,” he warned.
Prizes were given to the winners of the poster competition.
Within the scope of "Smoking and heart disease", which is the theme of the World Health Organization (WHO) World No Tobacco Day this year, awards were given to the winners of the poster competition held in cooperation with the Turkish Respiratory Research Association and Gazi University Faculty of Fine Arts.
70 competitors who met the conditions participated in the competition with 102 works, which is open to the participation of students enrolled in undergraduate and graduate programs in Fine Arts Faculties and members of the Turkish Respiratory Research Association.
Evaluation of the works was made by the Selection Committee consisting of faculty members from TÜSAD and the Faculty of Fine Arts. At the ceremony, awards were presented to the students who placed in the top three in the competition, as well as to the owners of 6 honorable mentions and 8 works worth exhibiting.
Source: AA
