Smog awareness walk held at HFH

Rawalpindi : Rawalpindi Medical University and Holy Family Hospital in town organised a public awareness walk here in the premises of the HFH where pamphlets bearing information on how to avoid health hazards caused by smog were distributed among visitors to the hospital.

Vice Chancellor at RMU Professor Dr. Muhammad Umar, the patron of the walk organised the activity in compliance with the directives issued by the Punjab health department. Various departments of RMU and HFH participated in the awareness walk.

The awareness walk was arranged to sensitise both the healthcare workers and public on various aspects of smog that not only causes serious ailments but also puts extra ordinary burden on healthcare facilities, said Head of Department of Infectious Diseases (DID) at RMU Professor Dr. Muhammad Mujeeb Khan while talking to ‘The News’ on Sunday.

He said a number of government departments have to work jointly to minimize the bad effects of smog that has already started hitting population in various cities of the Punjab province.

Smog, a blend of the words smoke and fog refers to smoky fog that contains much hazardous chemicals, the pollutants that pose serious threat to public health. Fuels when burnt release pollutants and gases that form smog. The sunlight and heat react with these gases and particles in the atmosphere to form smog that makes breathing difficult.

Studies reveal that smog when covers a city or town, its population has to face mild to moderate and in some cases severe complications as smog may be responsible for any ailment from irritation in the eyes, pain in the chest to deadly pulmonary diseases such as lung cancer.

Causing inflammation in the tissues of lungs, the smog causes pain in the chest. Smog may also be responsible for cold, pneumonia or other respiratory tract infections and their complications and it is observed that it is difficult for human body to defend itself against the harmful effects of smog.

Dr. Mujeeb said that even minor exposure to smog can cause greater threats of asthma attacks among patients of asthma and they must avoid smog.

By controlling production of smoke and burning of fuels, the hazards of smog can be minimized, he said.