History

'When 80 percent of your patients are ill from smoking, action is needed'

Youth Smoking Prevention as founded in 2009 by the pulmonologists Pauline Dekker and Wanda de Kanter, authors of the book Nederland stopt! Met Roken.

The reason for Dekker and De Kanter to publish their book on how to quit smoking, grew out of frustration about the fact that as lung doctors they are always at the end of the line: 80 percent of their daily work in the hospital consists of caring for patients with COPD or lung cancer. Diseases that cannot be cured, but can be prevented.

However, the book alone can't turn around the overwhelming smoking epidemic. It is not of interest for the target group where this epidemic starts, the adolescents.

Youth Smoking Prevention focuses on reducing recruitment at the base, where the epidemic starts, among our children. The Netherlands is not doing well at all when it comes to smoking prevention among young people.

The founders of Youth Smoking Prevention have chosen to remain independent, just as they wrote their book completely independently. They are committed to maintaining their agility as practicing medical professionals and to choosing their own priorities, bridging the gap between medical practice and prevention. To keep the focus on prevention. As practising pulmonologists, as socially committed individuals, as ex-smokers and as mothers.