Tobacco.org

LETTER: Tobacco crackdown 'not really a priority' 

The crackdown on cold stores selling several types of tobacco that is harmful to health is a good move, especially the herb that gives one a temporary high.

Selling cigarettes to children should be a crime, with a hefty fine and I agree.

What is confusing is that cigarettes and alcohol are also harmful and why aren't they confiscated?

These poor Asian workers find it hard like normal smokers to give up the habit since they have been using it for years - it feels like a bottomless pit. It's freedom of choice and they are aware of the dangers, but nonetheless they continue. What they choose to put in their bodies is their choice. Who are we to tell them otherwise? Confiscate herbs that give the effect of narcotics and leave the tobacco for these people who can't do without it.

Please, don't misunderstand me. I am not promoting smoking, I am trying to get across what some Asian labourers that use tobacco have told me.

I had a friendly conversation with them and asked them what they would do . . .

The bottom line is: it is up to people if they choose to drink, smoke or use drugs. I am not here to judge or force my views on them, all I can do is educate them on the dangers.

If the government wants to ban, let it first get its priorities straight and ban everything that is harmful

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• Bahrain stepping up tobacco clamp 

A TOTAL of 120 cold stores from across the country have been referred to the Public Prosecution since the beginning of the year for illegally selling individual cigarette or banned tobacco products.

The move by the health authorities aims to combat smoking among minors, who have easy access to cigarettes and chewable tobacco products sold in neighbourhood cold stores.

National Anti-Smoking Campaign co-ordinator Dr Ejlal Al Alawi said a team of health inspectors carried out surprise inspections at cold stores as part of a nationwide crackdown.

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• Smoking 'cabins' on way 

SMOKERS WHO WERE ONCE BANISHED FROM MALLS AND OFFICE BUILDINGS MAY AGAIN FIND RELIEF WITH THE INTRODUCTION OF INDOOR SMOKING CABINS.

An indoor smoking cabin is already available at Bahrain International Airport's departures lounge and another is planned for arrivals, said Bahrain-based Abdullah Al Derazi Company managing director Mansoor Al Derazi.

There are now plans to instal them in malls, office buildings, industries, banks, ministries, restaurants and other places, he said.

The company is promoting the concept in Bahrain after becoming the country's sole distributor of Plymovent, Netherlands smoking cabins, following an agreement with regional suppliers Dubai-based Gulfmate Solutions.

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Health alert over toxic substance in e-cigarettes 

People smoking e-cigarettes could be inhaling dangerous substances contained in anti-freeze, it has been claimed.

The latest research by the US Food and Drug Administration concluded that the cartridges used contain glycol ethylene, which is also contained in anti-freeze, said Bahrain Anti Smoking Society chairman Dr Kadhem Al Halwachi.

'This is a highly toxic substance and can cause poisoning and increase the risk of cancer, among other illnesses,' he told our sister newspaper Gulf Daily News (GDN).

The society has been pressing Bahrain to ban the import and sale of e-cigarettes on the grounds it is dangerous to users, causing more harm than a traditional cigarette.

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• Tobacco clamp on the way 

A NATIONWIDE crackdown on cold stores illegally selling tobacco will be launched soon under new provisions related to the anti-smoking law, it emerged yesterday.

The move aims to combat smoking among minors, who have easy access to cigarettes and tobacco products in cold stores across Bahrain.

A Health Ministry delegation yesterday met their counterparts in the Industry and Commerce Ministry, who were provided a list of unlicensed cold stores selling tobacco products.

National Anti-Smoking Committee member Dr Ejlal Al Alawi said the crackdown on cold stores could start by the beginning of next year.

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Bahrain hotels warned against violating smoking law 

Hotels in Bahrain have been warned against allowing children below 18 years to enter smoking sections of Ramadan tents even if they are accompanied by their parents.

The Health Ministry pointed out at a recent meeting that violators would be prosecuted under an anti-smoking law that came into force in 2009.

Under the law, punishment varies from imposing a fine to shutting down of the tent.

The meeting was attended by representatives from four and five-star hotels which are licenced to set up entertainment tents at their yards throughout the holy month of Ramadan.

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Sheesha 'more harmful than cigarettes' 

BAHRAIN needs more education on the dangers of sheesha smoking, say health campaigners.

Most people think sheesha is safe but in fact it is more harmful than normal cigarettes, said American Mission Hospital (AMH) anti-smoking clinic head and general practitioner Dr Babu Ramachandran.

"Sheesha smoking must be curtailed, people still think it's safe and we need to bring down the number of male, female and teenage smokers," he told the GDN.

"The problem is you can't easily measure how much nicotine is going into sheesha because you don't know the concentration.

"In addition to the tobacco, the foil used for sheesha is also liable to cause cancer.

"People also share sheesha pipes and this can transmit communicable diseases."

Dr Ramachandran said passive smoking was also a problem in Bahrain.

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LETTER: Warning to smokers... 

This refers to the news of a 'Clampdown on smoking' (GDN February 9).

A partial smoking ban in hotels and restaurants is being enforced, with fines of BD1,000 being issued to those caught breaking the law.

I am writing this for smokers' awareness only, I am not discouraging or forcing people to quit their habit.

Smokers have the right to light up in designated areas. But my article can serve as an eye-opener for some smokers to quit their habit. . . .

Think for a minute dear smoker. When are you going to stop this habit? Ask yourself?

Try to reduce the numbers and promote health and healthy air for all.

You can save your money, you can save your valued time and you can safeguard your health and also of those who don't smoke.

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LETTER: Why are smoking laws blatantly flouted? 

The other day, I had to visit Almoayyad Tower in Seef. I wanted to have a coffee on the ground floor by the entrance facing HSBC bank. The place was full of people smoking. . . .

I thought that I would go to the Costa Coffee on the first floor. Again, the situation was the same, smokers are kept in a closed area, but the doors are kept open all the time and the smoke fills the area outside. . . .

As someone said before, the law regarding smoking is not worth the paper it is written on as no body in Bahrain respects it. I have been to Oman and even in the smallest local coffee shops the law is applied. But Oman not Bahrain.

I hope that those responsible for implementing the law see to the above and do not say that it is a private building. It is not, it is a public place.

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Sheesha caf's to be shut 

SHEESHA coffee shops on Manama's Al Fateh Corniche are to be closed, to make way for a BD8 million leisure development.

Rules restricting the sale of sheesha at coffee shops elsewhere in the Capital Governorate are also to be soon revised to make them more realistic, say councillors.

Sheesha was banned in certain coffee shops across the country in July last year, but this was suspended a few days later, after a U-turn by municipal officials.

They instigated the ban under regulations dating back to a ministerial decision in November 2006, which also outlaws sheesha smoking in public parks, gardens, on coasts, beaches and corniches.

Coffee shops within 200 metres of homes, hospitals, embassies, educational institutions, government establishments and places of worship are banned from serving sheesha, under the law.

Other regulations insist that coffee shops should instal proper ventilation and meet safety and hygiene standards, before being allowed to serve sheesha.

The 200-metre rule is unrealistic and will be revised

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• Sheesha smokers at high risk of catching virus 

Sheesha smokers could be contributing to the spread of the swine flu, it has been claimed.

According to the Bahrain Anti-Smoking Society, sheesha pipes are an ideal tool for users to catch the virus since they are often passed from person to person.

'This is a real threat and all sheesha users should be careful,' said society vice-president Dr Kadhem Al Halwachi.

'We have already been told smokers are at an increased risk of getting complications from the swine flu because a smoker's lungs are already compromised.'

Health officials last week added smokers to a list of 'high risk' individuals who could contract the H1N1 virus.

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Inspectors catch 14,000 flouting Bahrain smoking ban 

Bahrain Ministry of Health inspectors have caught more than 14,000 people smoking in public areas since the kingdom’s smoking ban came into effect last year.

According to official figures 72 offenders were women and 2,060 were under the age of 18, according to a report in the Gulf Daily News.

The ministry said it has stepped up its anti-smoking campaign and has carried out a series of surprise inspections on public areas to ensure the ban is being followed.

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LETTER: Fuming at inaction  

HAVING returned to Bahrain after my annual holiday, I went for lunch at my favourite restaurant in Adliya hoping that the much-heralded smoking ban had been implemented as we were first advised last January. Of course, it had not!

The restaurant manager told me that all they are waiting for was the official letter from the relevant ministry, which they can put up on the wall, and they will enforce the ban immediately.

Apparently the staff cannot wait to work in a healthy, smoke-free, environment! So, whichever ministry is responsible, please send the letters and enforce the new law!

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• Stub it out now! 

BAHRAIN is stepping up its ban on smoking in public places, with restaurants first in the firing line.

Restaurants which have failed to designate separate, sealed-off areas for smokers are being served final warnings, it was revealed yesterday.

Action is also underway to extend the ban soon to all workplaces (including ministries) as wells as hotels, said primary care and public health assistant under-secretary Dr Mariam Al Jalahma.

Thousands of people caught smoking in closed public places have already been warned and in future offenders may be fined, she said.

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LETTER: Another law ignored? 

ON January 13, the GDN reported the planned smoking restrictions in restaurants, stating that they would be given six months to set up designated smoking areas.

The Health Ministry public health and primary care assistant under-secretary Dr Mariam Al Jalahma was quoted as saying: "Many of the 6,569 restaurants have already started implementing the directive, while others had done so with little regard for the spirit of the rule." . . .

The six months' notice expires next month and I see absolutely nothing being done in any of the restaurants I visit.

Can I reasonably assume that this will be yet another law which will be totally ignored and unimplemented?

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