Tobacco.org

• 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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• 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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• Bahrain clamps down on tobacco use and advertising 

Manama: People caught smoking in their cars in front of children will face fines, according to a tough new anti-smoking law that bans tobacco advertising and heavily limits smoking areas.

The law, ratified by Bahrain's King Hamad Bin Eisa Al Khalifah on Monday after it was approved by the bicameral parliament, forbids the planting, manufacturing or reprocessing of tobacco in Bahrain as well as importing chewable tobacco-based products, moist snuff and other tobacco-based substances unlicensed by the health ministry.

It also bans smoking in public transport, ports, airports, government offices, health centres, hospitals, pharmacies, schools, universities, public libraries, religious buildings, industrial facilities, training centres, malls, shopping complexes and markets. The ban also applies to clubs, stadiums, sports halls, restaurants, hotels, cafes,

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• Bahrain takes anti-smoking message to causeway  

The Bahraini Ministry of Health has distributed over 100,000 brochures at the King Fahd Causeway detailing the harmful effects of smoking and places on the island where smoking is prohibited.

"We have seen a great response through our campaign at the causeway. Smoking has been prohibited in Bahraini malls and we now plan to extend the ban to restaurants," said Dr. Mariam Al-Jalahma, assistant undersecretary of public health and primary care at the Ministry of Health.

Al-Jalahma said that according to new regulations, restaurants are required to have smoking and no smoking areas, including separate areas for children. Under the current practice, anti-smoking brochures in Arabic and English are distributed at the King Fahd Causeway's toll counter among those entering Bahrain.

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• Smoking clamp on cold stores  

A CALL went out yesterday for a nationwide crackdown on cold stores and coffee shops who sell cigarettes to minors. It should be spearheaded by the Health Ministry and municipal councils in co-operation with the Interior Ministry, say councillors.

The call comes after a Health Ministry and Interior Ministry joint raid on an East Riffa cold store where an Asian salesman was caught red-handed selling cigarettes to children.

Municipal council vice chairman Abbas Hassan Mahfoodh said that they had reports about the store's practices.

"We co-ordinated with the Interior Ministry and inspectors of the Health Ministry and kept watch on the premises," he said.

Mr Mahfoodh said some neighbourhood children were also drafted in to act as decoy customers . . . .

Committee chairman Adnan Al Malki said the salesman was selling cigarettes to children for 50 fils each at the Bu Kawarah cold store.

"I first went to the place unidentified to see for myself and witnessed with my own eyes the worker selling a cigarette to a 14-year-old boy," he said.

"The store was full of 12 to 14-year-olds smoking like there is no law."

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• More Than 3,000 Minors Caught Smoking at Bahrain Shopping Malls 

More than 3,000 under 18 years were caught smoking at various public places in October.

Despite general ban on smoking of minors here, they were mainly caught by health inspectors at 17 shopping malls.

As part of the ban on smoking in closed public places, 17 women and 662 men were found breaking the law in the same period. "We carried out 173 surprise inspections in 21 premises and gave 55 verbal warnings to those found smoking and violating the rules," said Dr Khalil Rabi, Head of Water Safety and Public health Institution at the Ministry of Health in a statement last week.

He said 2,749 smokers were asked to stub their cigarettes.

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• E-cigarettes seized at airport  

A CONSIGNMENT of "e-cigarettes" allegedly falsely marketed as devices that help people quit smoking was intercepted at Bahrain International Airport yesterday.

Health officials ordered the shipment to be held by Customs officers after the electronic devices were advertised across the country through a mass e-mail.

Bahraini firm Magnolia Contracting imported a large number of the e-cigarettes, claiming they could help people kick the habit.

However, Health Ministry deputy health education head and Bahrain Anti-Smoking Committee chairman Dr Kadhem Al Halwachi described the claim as "absurd".

"The World Health Organisation (WHO) has certified these devices as being the same as cigarettes and equally harmful to an individual's health," he said. . . .

Meanwhile, a spokesman for Magnolia Contracting said the company was now trying to meet all requirements and planned to be in a position to sell the e-cigarettes in Bahrain in the next few days.

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• Alarm as more students smoke 

ONE in every four male students in Bahrain's secondary schools is a smoker, it emerged yesterday.

This is compared to one in every five students who smoked only a few years ago, said Bahrain Anti-Smoking Society head Dr Mariam Al Jalahma.

"The results of the recent survey confirms that the number of smokers in schools is increasing all the time," she said.

Dr Al Jalahma was speaking ahead of the World No Smoking Day being marked in Bahrain on Saturday under the theme Tobacco Free Youth.

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• Underage smoking targeted 

British American Tobacco joined forces with prominent cooperative societies to launch the Partners in Responsibility youth smoking prevention campaign in Kuwait. The campaign, which aims to raise awareness of laws that regulate underage smoking, was launched on the 4th of May 2008 in all outlets of Dasmah and Bnaid Al-Gar, Bayan, Al-Adeliyiyyah, Kaifan and Al-Rawda and Hawally cooperative societies. Bassem Bekdache, Head of Corporate and Regulatory Affairs for British American Tobacco in the GCC stated that "We hope that the Partners in Responsibility campaign will help increase awareness of the law. We take the matter of youth smoking prevention very seriously and are backing up words with actions. In addition to Kuwait, this campaign has also been rolled out in Bahrain and Qatar with more countries to follow by the end of 2008."

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• Shura Council stubs out anti-smoking law 

A LAW aimed at combating smoking had some of the fire taken out of it by the Shura Council yesterday.

They approved a softened version, without jail sentences for people who sell tobacco products to children.

Councillors dropped parliament's proposed six-month jail sentence for those who sell them to children aged below 14, sticking instead to a maximum fine of BD100. . . .

They also decided to remove an article which stipulated that tax revenue from tobacco products would go to the Health Ministry, rather than the national budget.

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• Bahrain's tobacco industry will be affected by anti-smoking bill 

MANAMA -- Tobacco industry in the kingdom will be severely affected by an anti-smoking bill which is expected to be ratified by His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa soon. The bill will ban planting or industrialising any type of tobacco.

Bahrain's muasil (traditional type of tobacco for f+ishishaf-i) trade which has a great demand in the Gulf region, Europe and Northern America will be hit and the ban will affect its export revenues. The f+imuasilf-i comes in many flavours such as apple and strawberry and it is known for its strong smell and fruit taste.

The bill, which was approved by the Lower and Upper Houses, will also ban smoking in closed public places

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• Shura stubs out anti-smoking law 

A DIVIDED Shura Council yesterday stubbed out an anti-smoking law, dismissing it as un-enforceable. Members initially approved the proposal last week, but yesterday decided to refer it back to the services committee for complete re-working.

Some objected to part of the draft, which stipulated that adults who smoke in cars with children aboard be prosecuted, saying it was unworkable. Others said prosecuting people who smoke in malls and other closed areas would be even tougher, as courts demand that offenders be caught red-handed.

Members were also presented with a letter contesting the law by tobacco importing company Talal Abu Ghazaleh & Company International, which has a branch in Bahrain.

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• Smoking draft law is backed 

Council members initially backed an anti-smoking law yesterday, which was originally drafted 14 years ago.

It is a mix between the original draft, which was presented to the former Shura Council in 1994 but never passed, and a parliamentary proposed law.

Under the new law, people who smoke in their cars with children on board could be prosecuted.

Traders who sell tobacco to children aged under 14 years could also face up to six months in jail.

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• 'Tobacco-candy' stores face crackdown 

A NATIONWIDE crackdown on candy containing tobacco, which is being sold to children at cold stores, has been launched, government's consumer protection officials said yesterday.

The "chaini khaini", a mixture of sun-dried tobacco leaves and fruit flavours such as strawberry, lime and mint, is illegal in Bahrain and unlicensed by the Health Ministry, they said.

"However, it is more likely that it was brought to Bahrain by individuals arriving from abroad," said an Industry and Commerce Ministry spokesman.

The product, indigenous to India, is said to be addictive, with its daily consumption among users ranging from three to 30 times.

"After learning from some reports in the media that this product was available at several cold stores, the Industry and Commerce Ministry contacted Food Safety Directorate officials at the Health Ministry, who confirmed it," said the spokesman.

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• Profits going up in smoke say bosses 

SMOKE-FREE workplaces in Bahrain could actually benefit the country's economy, according to a new report. The study revealed that nearly half of employers believe that smoking has a negative financial impact on their company.

Bosses who took part in the survey, commissioned by Pfizer Middle East and conducted by Harris Interactive, said smokers were actually less productive than their non-smoking counterparts.

"Even more surprisingly, almost a third of smokers (31 per cent) agree that they are less productive in the workplace owing to their smoking habits," said Pfizer Middle East policy and external affairs director Dr Ahmed El Hakim.

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