The College of Biomedical Informatics at the University of Information Technology and Communications, through its Psychological Counseling Unit, held an awareness seminar entitled “Smoking… The Beginning of Illness and the End of Life.” The seminar was presented by Dr. Ghaith Hamed Hamid Al-Janabi, Director of the Chest and Respiratory Diseases Center at Imamain Al-Kadhimain Medical City Hospital.

The seminar addressed the health, psychological, and social harms resulting from smoking, highlighting the dangers of addiction to tobacco and nicotine in its various forms, including traditional cigarettes, e-cigarettes, and hookahs, as well as the harmful effects of chemical flavorings. It also discussed the dangers of secondhand smoke in enclosed public spaces and its serious repercussions on the health of non-smokers.

The lecturer presented, in a precise scientific manner, the direct effects of smoking on the heart, arteries, lungs, respiratory tract, and bronchi, explaining its link to numerous chronic and life-threatening diseases. At the conclusion of the seminar, a set of guidelines and practical solutions were presented to help reduce this phenomenon and encourage people to quit smoking in order to protect public health.