{"id":24347,"date":"2025-08-05T15:25:49","date_gmt":"2025-08-05T15:25:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/?p=24347"},"modified":"2025-08-06T10:10:38","modified_gmt":"2025-08-06T10:10:38","slug":"world-no-tobacco-day-in-albania","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/world-no-tobacco-day-in-albania\/","title":{"rendered":"World No Tobacco Day in Albania"},"content":{"rendered":"

5 August 2025 | Tirana, Albania [Sarah Henke]<\/p>\n

Seventh-day Adventists in Durr\u00ebs and Tirana lead creative health outreach rooted in faith, compassion, and connection.<\/p>\n

Across Albania, Seventh-day Adventist churches have been leading bold, compassionate outreach efforts to encourage healthier living, offering support to smokers and raising awareness about tobacco use. Through face-to-face conversations, faith-based initiatives, and symbolic gestures, communities were engaged with a message of hope and transformation.<\/p>\n

These activities were part of World No Tobacco Day, marked globally on 31 May, but their impact has continued to resonate long after.<\/p>\n

Irilda Braho, Health Department Director for the Albanian Mission, created and distributed an anti-smoking brochure for use across all churches. In Durr\u00ebs, under her leadership, the local team took to the streets with a clear mission: to engage directly with smokers. Rather than simply handing out leaflets, they initiated one-on-one conversations, approaching individuals who were visibly smoking on sidewalks, in caf\u00e9s, and in parks.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe didn\u2019t just give them a brochure,\u201d Irilda explained. \u201cWe challenged them to take at least one cigarette from their pack and exchange it for an apple.\u201d The response was often a surprised smile or a nervous laugh. Yet, almost all admitted they knew smoking was harmful, even if they associated it with stress or enjoyment.<\/p>\n

The experience was filled with heartfelt moments. Some individuals opened up about their struggles and failed attempts to quit. Others were glad to see friends or partners challenged. \u201cSome girls told us to do this every day!\u201d Irilda recalled. Non-smokers asked for extra brochures to share with their children, and several people said, \u201cYou came at the perfect time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of course, not everyone was receptive. A few declined to listen, refused the brochure, or rejected the challenge altogether. One person even joked that they\u2019d rather divorce their spouse than quit smoking. But overall, the response was remarkably positive. By the end, the team had collected not just stories, but cigarettes \u2014 symbolically surrendered and stored in a paper bag as small trophies of progress.<\/p>\n

\"collected<\/a><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, at Tirana East Church, members gathered for a special Sabbath programme dedicated to raising awareness and offering hope. Led by Pastor Gentian Thomollari, the service combined practical advice with spiritual encouragement for breaking free from addiction.<\/p>\n

Pastor Thomollari\u2019s sermon highlighted the serious dangers of tobacco use and urged the church to support those who struggle, not with judgment, but with kindness and care, following Christ\u2019s example.<\/p>\n

\u201cPastor Thomollari\u2019s message opened my eyes,\u201d said Zamira. \u201cI realised that compassion, not criticism, is the key to helping others.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the end of the service, members went out into the community to distribute brochures to neighbours and friends. \u201cIt felt like more than just raising awareness,\u201d said a church member. \u201cIt was a way of showing love. If even one person reads it and decides to change, it\u2019s worth it.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

[Photos: courtesy of Sarah Henke]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Trade a cigarette for an apple<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":24349,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1580,1574,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24347","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-albania-croatia-slovenia","category-health-wellness","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24347","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24347"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24347\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24358,"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24347\/revisions\/24358"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24349"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24347"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24347"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24347"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}