Each year hundreds of people in Saudi Arabia die from the direct and indirect effects of smoking. To create greater awareness on the risks of smoking, NCB held a seminar at the premises of its Regional Management, Riyadh, conducted by Bupa Arabia. The "Quit Smoking" seminar is the second in a series organized by the Kingdom's first specialized health insurer for the employees of NCB in Riyadh, Khobar and Jeddah.
"We are very pleased to be partnering for the second time with NCB to present seminars covering a comprehensive range of health issues for the benefit of the bank's employees," said Dr.Sherif Afifi, health expert at Bupa Arabia. "One of Bupa Arabia's prime objectives is to establish a culture of awareness in Saudi Arabia and this seminar in three major cities is aimed at showing various ways of escaping the vicious circle of nicotine addiction. Furthermore, passive smoking - inhaling other people's smoke - especially in a working environment - can have serious health effects, both short term and long term."
Passive smoking triples the risk of lung cancer. Tobacco smoke contains over 4000 chemicals, which include at least 43 cancer-causing agents (carcinogens) such as carbon monoxide, nicotine and hydrogen cyanide among many others.
Dr. Afifi continued. "Research by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has proven that non-smokers are exposed to the same carcinogens as active smokers. There is also increasing evidence that passive smoking causes both short-and long-term harm to the heart by reducing the amount of oxygen carried in the bloodstream."
Commenting on the high number of employees attending the seminar, Saud Sabban, Head of the Human Resources Division at NCB, said: "We are most appreciative of this initiative by Bupa Arabia and the great interest shown by NCB staff, which reflects the high regard they have for the quality of Bupa's service and their respect for the company as a reliable voice in medical advice."
Bupa Arabia is an organization that has evolved around its clients and is therefore committed to take care of the lives in its hands by being the healthcare partner that provides expertise for life through its medical expertise and the highest level of performance. The "Quit Smoking" seminar stands in line with Bupa Arabia's efforts to give back to the communities they serve. The health insurer has conducted various seminars on swine flu, CPR and diabetes for its clients. Continuing its social responsibility activities, Bupa Arabia plans to offer similar awareness seminars for the employees of other member companies.
