Dr. Adama-Rabi Youla

After losing her brother to lung cancer after he smoked for five years, Dr. Adama-Rabi Youla was inspired to take a firmer stance against smoking. Dr. Youla, with help from all the physicians from the area and from the Friends of Healthcare Foundation, organized a “Doctors’ Walk” fundraiser in Campbellton, where she works one week per month in the hospital, though her practice is in Dalhousie. Restigouche-area physicians, accompanied by their patients and other health care professionals, walked five kilometres, collecting proceeds for smoking cessation. “When we walk in the street, it’s something that impacts our patients,” said Dr. Youla. Smoking is common in the Restigouche area. She believes that with greater support, including insurance coverage of smoking cessation products, more people will be able to quit.