The new initiative, called I Plan a Long Life, was unveiled by Health Minister Adam Niedzielski on Friday.
Niedzielski told a news conference in Warsaw: “It is not enough to treat cancer when it happens. Public health policy must also be concerned with building up people’s health.”
He cautioned that "cancer deaths are on the rise in Poland," public broadcaster Polish Radio’s IAR news agency reported.
The health minister announced: ”And so in addition to the newly-created network of cancer hospitals, the government is launching a major cancer awareness campaign.”
Warning about cancer risk factors, promotion of physical activity
Under the initiative, a series of educational broadcasts will soon hit the airwaves, the internet and cinemas, officials said.
The audio and video content will highlight the main cancer risk factors, such as smoking and alcohol consumption, as well as promote physical activity, Niedzielski told reporters.
Smoking and alcohol consumption on the rise in Poland: officials
Meanwhile, Deputy Health Minister Waldemar Kraska said that during the COVID-19 pandemic people began smoking more cigarettes and consuming more alcohol, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
Kraska said that 18 percent of Poles "consume harmful amounts of alcohol, at least six litres of pure alcohol a year.”
Meanwhile, 26 percent of Polish people smoke, and almost a third of the smokers are under 25, according to health officials.
Moreover, the number of e-cigarette smokers almost quadrupled during the COVID-19 pandemic, the IAR news agency reported.
Kraska said: "Given these trends, we must step up health-awareness measures.”
(pm/gs)
Source: IAR, PAP, medexpress.pl,planujedlugiezycie.pl
