Tribune News Network
Doha
Qatar Cancer Society (QCS) honoured the winners of the ‘Time to Quit’ competition, launched this month for school students on the occasion of World No Tobacco Day, which is marked on May 31 every year.
The ceremony was attended by Sheikh Dr Khalid bin Jabor Al Thani, chairman of QCS; Ibrahim Abdullah Al Dehaimi, general manager of the Regulatory Authority for Charitable Activities (RACA); Mona Ashkanani,director-general of QCS; and Muhammad Abdullah Al-Maraghi, director of the Health and Safety Department at the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MoEHE).
Sheikh Dr Khalid bin Jabor Al Thani, Ibrahim Abdullah Al Dehaimi and Muhammad Abdullah Al-Maraghi honoured the first three winners of the competition.
The first prize winners were Maha Ali Talib from Al-Jazeera Academy and Heba Hamza from Al-Bayan Secondary School for Girls, while second prize went to Al-Dana Salem Khamis from Umm Ayman Secondary School for Girls and Khaled Hussam from Elite International School. The third prize was received by Aizah Khan from Bright Future International School, along with The Next Generation (TNG) School’s Primary and Secondary Campus at Al Wakrah.
The celebration included a panel discussion to raise awareness of the harms of tobacco use and the importance of quitting and promoting a healthy lifestyle, with the participation of several specialists and partners, including Muhammad Abdullah Al-Maraghi, director of the Health and Safety Department at the MoEHE; Dr Abdul Hameed Al-Khonji, head of Wellness for Community Interventions & Senior Consultant of Community Medicine; Dr Jamal Bashi, smoking control and treatment specialist at HMC’s Tobacco Control Centre; and Marwa Al-Saleh, radio host and social media influencer.
Sheikh Dr Khaled bin Jabor Al Thani expressed his happiness at the participation of a large number of schools, including government and private schools, in the competition, which QCS is keen to launch every year. He appreciated the presence of Ibrahim Abdullah Al Dehaimi, the general manager of RACA, in the programme. He added that tobacco control is a joint responsibility of officials, parents and all others.
He thanked all partners and supporters, including the MoEHE, HMC, PHCC, Suhail Holding Company and Vodafone. He also appreciated the competition’s jury comprisingAbdullah Ahmed Mohammed, head of the Communication and Awareness Department at Fire Station, and Dr Muhammad Abdeen, a community medicine specialist.
Mona Ashkanani said, “‘Time to Quit’ competition aims to raise awareness of the harms of tobacco use and to emphasise the importance of quitting it. It also seeks to promote the importance of avoiding passive smoking, while encouraging the adoption of a healthy lifestyle, she said, noting that more than 90 artworks received from preparatory and secondary school students as part of the competition and two winners were chosen for each of the threeplaces.
