Mijas organizes two walks to celebrate World No Tobacco Day

On May 31st, World No Tobacco Day is celebrated, and to commemorate it, the Mijas Town Hall has scheduled a series of events aimed at highlighting the serious health problems caused by tobacco use and its derived products.

To start, this Thursday the 29th, the 'Tobacco-Free Walk' will take place, in which second-year ESO students from five educational centers in the municipality will participate. Various social organizations, Civil Protection, and some local pharmacies will also take part.

The walk will start at 10:00 AM from San Valentín square and will proceed through various streets of Las Lagunas, including stops at some primary education centers. The walk will end at Cortijo Don Elías with informative actions by the participating entities.

"The Health Department is collaborating because it is an important day for raising awareness. It is essential to remember that smoking causes 50,000 deaths per year in Spain and is the cause of 35 diseases, so it must be taken very seriously," explained Marco Cortés, the Health Councilor.

On the other hand, on the 30th, another walk will take place starting at 10:00 AM from Del Torreón square and will continue through the trail and urban core of La Cala de Mijas. It will end at the football field of La Cala, where an area with information tables will be set up. Attendance is expected from students of Mijas Pueblo and La Cala de Mijas as well as from citizens who wish to participate.

Contest

The program also includes a contest called 'Unmask It', focusing primarily on electronic cigarettes, whose use has spread. This year, the World Health Organization's theme is: 'Unmask their appeal: the industry's tactics with tobacco and nicotine products exposed.' The goal is to unveil the tactics used by the tobacco and nicotine industries to make their harmful products appear attractive.

Based on this theme, the contest's proposal is to create works in any format that "unmasks tobacco" by showing the substances and products inhaled through electronic cigarettes, hookahs, or other devices.

Through this awareness proposal, the aim is to increase the risk perception among adolescents about the use of these devices. The winning entries may be used for educational and/or informational purposes in local media, associated social networks, and in the educational centers themselves. The best two works from each educational center will be chosen, and the selected participating students will receive a free ticket to enjoy the 'AquaMijas' water park for this season.