Tobacco, cigarettes, even e-cigarettes are one of the silent relentless killers that may jeopardize the health and life of a consumer as well as those who are nearby the active smoker. It is a common sight to see smokers in public areas such as restaurants, markets, bus stands, parking lots just to name a few. The habit of smoking can be seen in young adults, elderly and even teenagers! Hence, a constant awareness campaign is required to ensure more people are aware of the consequences and discourage the habit of smoking.
With that aim in mind, Green Lung Club from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) had worked together collaboratively with a group of students from Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) to come out with an awareness campaign that is called Tobacco – An Invisible Life Intruder Workshop 2021. The workshop successfully held on 19th December 2022 via Webex Online Meeting Room with more than 140 pharmacy students having joined the workshop. The whole-day event was kicked off in the early morning with two meaningful webinars followed by a series of mini games by the evening. For the webinars, they had invited two special speakers with an outstanding background to give their insights and opinions from their respective field of expertise regarding the theme of the program.
The first webinar titled “E-cigarette And Conventional Cigarettes – Are E-Cigarette Really Safer” was given by Dr. Amer Siddiq Amer Nordin, a smoking cessation specialist and associate professor in Psychiatry UM. The talk was informative as the speaker had explained in great detail about the risks and the overview of e-cigarettes on human health. Then, the program was continued with the second webinar by Dr. Norliana binti Ismail from Tobacco Control Unit and Secretariat Disease Control (NCD). She gave an insightful talk about “Tobacco Control Policies in Malaysia” where the goal was to minimize the activity and demand of the tobacco industry in Malaysia.
Right after the second webinar, the event carried on with a post-webinar quiz session as a warm up for the second part of the event, which was a series of mini games with the aim to strengthen the bond between Year 1 Pharmacy students. The game had loosen up the tension between the group members and a lot of the facilitators were hoping for a successful participation by the students during the mini activities. There were a total of five interactive mini games such as jigsaw puzzle, fun Avengers-themed quiz, tic-tac-toe, bingo and scavenger hunt but in a virtual game system where the participants need to create an avatar to find the hidden treasure. The games were very enjoyable and there was a lively atmosphere among the students, a sign that they were having fun!
Every dawn there is a dusk, similarly every thing that has a beginning has an end, so does the workshop. The event ended with a closing ceremony by announcing the winner for a group that had accumulated the highest scores in the games followed by a bid of farewell and words of appreciation for attending the workshop. All in all, the event was a perpetual joyride as the students were able to gain knowledge and make friends while having fun at the same time. Again, Green Lung Club had yet successfully organised a fun workshop.
Written by: Nurul Fatihah Binti Norazlan