Medical staff butt out as example | Ipswich Health | Fitness and Medical News in Ipswich

Kambu Medical Centre have a program for their staff to quit smoking. Kimiah Alberts is one of the staff members who is currently on the program.

Queensland Times

PUMPING away at the stress ball in her hand, Kimiah Alberts is ready to quit the smokes and lead her community by example.

The 20-year-old Kambu Medical Centre employee is one of the 10 smokers at the Aboriginal medical facility who have pledged to permanently stub out the cigs as part of the “Time to Quit” program.

Queensland Health statistics show more than half of the adult indigenous population smokes tobacco compared to just one quarter of the of the overall population.

But Ms Alberts said it was even more likely in Ipswich.

“It is definitely a problem, most of my family smokes,” Ms Alberts said.

The soccer mad health worker has just finished a traineeship at Kambu and said she couldn't be a positive role model if she was still smoking cigarettes.

“Studying health makes you realise what they do to you,” she said.

“It would be a bit hypocritical to tell people to stop smoking if you did it yourself.”

Kambu practice manager Leonie Smit said the newly non-smoking staff had signed up to a 12-week program that included access to counselling services and all the nicotine replacement gum they needed.

She said if the program was successful it would be rolled out into the wider indigenous community within four months.

“Smoking causes all sorts of problems including bowel cancer, lung cancer, gangrene and diabetes,” Ms Smit said.

“It is a problem we really need to tackle.”