The Ministry of Health has warned people living with HIV who are on ARVs, Anti- Retroviral Therapy to stop using traditionally processed tobacco as a way of boosting their immune system.
This follows reports by people living with HIV who are on ARV drugs during world Tobacco Day last week, that sniffing traditionally prepared tobacco has helped them a lot in boosting their immune system.
Provincial Medical Officer, Abel Kabalo told Breeze News that tobacco is harmful to health because of nicotine that is contained in it.
He says that the addictive substance, which is found in all tobacco products, can affect a person’s health when they smoke a cigarette, chew tobacco or ingest nicotine.
Dr. Kabalo says people taking ARV’s are not supposed to mix the drug with herbs, because it may be difficult to find enough information on herbs for them to make informed choices.
He explained that the immune system is the body’s way of protecting itself from infection and disease but smoking or taking tobacco can make someone prone to respiratory infections.