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Arnold Schwarzenegger flew in to Iraq on a morale-boosting visit for US troops on Monday, drawing cheers from servicemen and women, some of whom were lucky enough to be gifted a cigar.
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Sweet fumes of white smoke rise with the cries of men playing dominoes in the teahouse, spreading an unfamiliar scent in a traditional setting.
Change is wafting through the musty, masculine caf� culture of Baghdad, and fruit-flavoured tobacco is just one sign of it. The fragrant product is replacing the pure tobacco leaf smoked by generations of Iraqis in the hubble-bubble, or nargileh.
It is served in a new type of teahouse whose other attractions typically include giant TV screens, a range of soft drinks besides the traditional tea, and occasionally, a few women clients among the men.
Venues of this kind are thriving with better security in Baghdad, though other forms of leisure remain limited by the conflict.
“Where else can we go in a country where there are no places for amusement?” asked Ali Hussein, a 32-year-old motor parts dealer in Baghdad. “The cafe is heaven for us - a place to meet friends and release the fatigue of work.” . . .
According to Dhiya, the clientele inside the tearoom has changed with the decor, “Cafes used to be for people aged 25 and upward. It was shameful for anyone younger than that to be seen in one. Nowadays, you see all sorts – from teenagers to the elderly.”
At last, definitive proof that we have successfully exported "our values" to Iraq: the Iraqi government is proposing to ban smoking in public places, including public sector buildings, offices, theatres, clubs and public transport. Tobacco advertising is also to be prohibited. Whitehall despots will regard this great reform as complete vindication of Tony Blair’s intervention in Iraq, dodgy dossier and all. . . . .
It mirrors the experience of Britain, where town centres are no-go areas for law-abiding citizens, the elderly are effectively under curfew – in the worst areas, under permanent house arrest – but the full enforcement energies of the state are directed towards eradicating smoking.
The proposal is to deprive Iraqi citizens of one of the few freedoms they enjoyed under Saddam Hussein. It will be an enlightening experience for those Iraqis who foolishly equated Western-style government with liberty. Now they are learning the harsh reality: when "democracy" arrives, freedom departs. Buoyed up by this success, the Thought Police must be getting ready to target Iraqi "climate change deniers".
The one slug in this politically correct salad is that this totalitarian proposal has not a snowflake’s chance in hell of getting through the Iraqi parliament: it will unceremoniously be thrown out. When that happens, it will be time for us in Britain to reflect: which of the two countries is the more mature democracy?
Defense Secretary Robert Gates seems to agree.
"He knows that the situation they are confronting is stressful enough as it is," said his press secretary, Geoff Morrell. "I don't think he is interested in adding to the stress levels by taking away one of the few outlets they may have to relieve stress."
He said Gates is not planning any ban, but is reviewing the study by the Institute of Medicine, which provides independent advice to policymakers, health professionals and the public, to see if steps can be taken toward having a smoke-free force some day.
U.S. military personnel and veterans interviewed by The Associated Press had strong opinions about life in the military without cigarettes, cigars and chewing tobacco.
Some said it would cut medical costs and make the force healthier, while eliminating smoking breaks would increase productivity. Others said it would dampen morale and reduce recruitment to the all-volunteer military.
Nearly all, however, said it was impractical and probably would never happen.
"It's an outrage," said Staff Sgt. Joe Dunn, 32. "I've been smoking for about 15 years and being forced to stop -- not on my own terms -- is something I'd have a hard time dealing with." . . .
"They've been talking about this for over 10 years now. Nothing has ever happened," said Fink, a Navy veteran and employee at the VA hospital in Nashville. A ban would drive people out of the military, he said, and "the military can't afford to lose anyone."
As soon as parliament ratifies the cabinet-imposed ban, Iraqi smokers will be forced to loiter on street corners exposed to car bombs and 45-degree heat in the summer. But according to a recent study, smoking kills an average of 55 Iraqis a day, compared to a current average of ten deaths daily from terrorist shootings or bombings. So the government argues that it is perfectly reasonable to outlaw smoking on public-health grounds.
Nonetheless, the ban has done nothing to improve the already low opinion many Iraqis have of their democratically elected government. "Bring back Saddam," says a cigarette vendor. "We were free to smoke anywhere then." Others link the ban to reports of torture in official detention. "Prisons are public buildings, right? So will they now prevent guards from stubbing out cigarettes on the arms, legs and backs of inmates?" asks one university student. . . .
In parliament though, the ban is popular. Islamists want to get rid of tobacco outright. Of course, many ministers and MPs smoke too, often in their offices. But, given their elevated positions, few rules apply to them.
伊拉克内阁6日通过了一个限制在公共场合吸烟和停止烟草广告的草案，待议会批准后将成为法律。这意味着有人违反该法的话，将面临重罚。
American smokers who called such legislation "anti-democratic" might find this undertaking by the Iraqi cabinet ironic: after all, the current legislative body is a product of the ongoing Operation Iraqi Freedom.
The high-percentage of Iraqi smokers indicates that this new law will be a lifestyle disruption for much of the population. What remains unclear, however, is how it will affect the cigarette-smoking American soldier.
A 2008 story on NPR gives the estimate that over two-thirds of the soldiers stationed in Iraq light up on a regular basis . . .
it is also true that many soldiers rely on cigarettes for stress-relief. Given the upward trend in military suicides, this encroachment on smoking space provokes concern.
And this is not an issue that will be disappearing soon: a few weeks ago the Pentagon and the Department of Veterans Affairs urged the Defense Department to enact anti-smoking laws within the armed services
With bombings and shootings still taking place on a daily basis, Iraq is not a country where people pay much heed to the health hazards of smoking.
So news that the government plans to introduce a stringent, Western-style anti-smoking law has been greeted with surprise, and considerable dismay by Iraqis accustomed to lighting up wherever and whenever they choose.
The draft law includes a ban on smoking in cafes, restaurants, clubs, and government and private offices, all places where life currently unfolds amid clouds of cigarette smoke. Penalties of $2,500 to $4,200 will be applied to violators.
"Maybe if we were leading normal lives I would consider giving up smoking," said Haidar Latif, 40, as he puffed on a cigarette in one of Baghdad's cafes. "But we are facing tough times. Our minds are tired and we need to smoke."
"Before they make such decisions, let them fix the services, the electricity, the water supply, and pave the streets,"
A study published in July in the American Journal of Public Health looked at internal tobacco company documents to determine if marketing efforts were aimed at servicemembers during the Gulf War.
Researchers found tobacco companies saw the conflict as a commercial opportunity and targeted servicemembers with free cigarettes, direct advertising, phone cards and homecoming parties.
The military, which often viewed the tobacco companies as benefactors, restricted the activity at times but frequently allowed it, according to “Everywhere the Soldier will Be: Wartime Tobacco Promotion in the U.S.”
Tobacco companies began producing and shipping free cigarettes within the first month of the war.
One company sent 10,000 cartons via the Department of Defense and others were on deck with 42,000 before the DOD acknowledged the free cigarettes were against policy and blocked further shipments, according to the study’s two researchers, Elizabith Smith and Ruth Malone . . .
Barred from providing free cigarettes, tobacco companies turned to branded merchandise such as baseball caps and playing cards.
“RJ Reynolds noted that ‘troops in Saudi Arabia definitely know that Camel Joe is behind them’ as they had received ‘over 5,000 packs of Camel playing cards … [and] a variety of premium items including sunglasses, audio cassettes and cup cozies,’” the study said. . . .
Philip Morris executives said they were “keenly interested in capitalizing on the successful military operation” and “continuing the association we started last year with the troops.”
“Over forty locations now have welcome home signs in place featuring Marlboro brand identification,” a military sales manager said in June 1991, according to the study. The company also produced the largest homecoming event for Desert Storm at Camp Lejeune, N.C., and similar events in Germany featured “extensive signage for Marlboro,” the study said.
This is a country of frazzled nerves and nicotine, where deals are struck and conspiracy theories hatched in the smokiest of rooms.
So why in the world, Iraqis demanded Thursday, would the government introduce a plan to ban smoking in public places?
Smoking is widespread in the region, and few countries have taken steps toward a ban. Jordan and Israel prohibit smoking in public places, and Qatar has a ban on indoor smoking in public places, though it is loosely enforced.
But a bill being presented to the Iraqi parliament by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's cabinet would rewrite rules in a way that many Iraqis who were interviewed described as inconceivable, by banning smoking in government buildings and public indoor areas.
"We have no electricity, no jobs, people still get killed," said Waleed Habba, 49, as he bought a pack of cigarettes at a tobacco store in downtown Baghdad. "We all have to deal with anger issues here. That's the reason people smoke here, to run away from that."
"We want Saddam back," said Ala al-Kanini, a patron at the store, referring to the late Iraqi leader. "You could do anything during Saddam's time."
We want Saddam back. You could do anything during Saddam's time.Tobacco store patron Ala al-Kanini, on Iraq's proposed smoking ban.
raq's cabinet approved a bill on Thursday to ban smoking in public places, but after years of bombings and kidnappings, chain-smoking Iraqis said they had more important things to worry about.
While violence has fallen sharply in Iraq in the last 18 months, insurgents still conduct major attacks on civilians. And with unemployment at nearly 20 percent, many Iraqis while away the day in cafes in a fog of fruity, aromatic waterpipe smoke.
Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said the aim of the law was to reduce the number of smokers and to protect the public from smoke -- no small feat in a country where even hospital corridors are littered with cigarette butts.
"The government should worry about car bombs before worrying about the effects of smoking. It has to stop terrorism," said Ali Marham, a 35-year-old computer worker, smoking a waterpipe at a cafe in Baghdad's central Karrada district.
If ratified by parliament, the ban would include a prohibition on smoking in ministry buildings, airports, company buildings, theatres, cinemas and schools, Dabbagh said in a statement. "There will be designated areas for smoking."
It was not clear if the ban would apply to waterpipes.
Iraq's cabinet has approved a draft of the war-torn country's first laws to restrict smoking and to halt cigarette advertising, the government said on Thursday.
The draft aims to bring to an end a laissez-faire attitude to cigarette smoking that endured through the totalitarian dictatorship of Saddam Hussein and years of fighting since the 2003 US-led invasion that overthrew him.
"The purpose behind approving the draft law to fight smoking is to protect the people from the social, health, environmental and economic risks of smoking," government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said in a statement.
"The draft law will ban smoking in public areas. Smoking will be prevented inside ministry buildings, educational institutions, health facilities, airports and companies in all provinces," Dabbagh said.
"Smoking will also be banned in theatres, clubs, meeting rooms, offices, and all private and public transport."
The Iraqi Cabinet has approved a draft bill to ban smoking in public places, a government spokesman said Thursday. It's the first such bill in a country where lighting up is virtually a rite of passage for most young men.
The law aims to curb the number of people who start smoking and raise awareness about the dangers of cigarettes, spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said. For passage, the draft still needs approval in parliament, which is in recess until September. . . .
If passed, the Iraqi law would be one of the region's most comprehensive bans, similar to many laws in the U.S. and Europe.
The Iraqi law would make smoking illegal in public places, such as government buildings, schools, movie theaters and in public transportation. The media also would be banned from advertising cigarettes.
It also would ban the sale of cigarettes to anyone under the age of 18 and fine anyone who is caught selling with up to 5 million Dinars, or about $4,300.
Al-Dabbagh said the law also would require cigarette companies to put warning labels on packages. . . .
Cigarettes are so inexpensive in Iraq "that even a poor boy can buy them," Hussein also said.
But the voice of the mastermind lingered with Hammoud, and his recollection led Iraqi and U.S. soldiers this month to arrest Nadhim Khalil, a former insurgent leader known to his followers as Mullah Nadhim, who had become an American ally here.
Khalil's rivals have hailed his detention. His colleagues call it caprice. Either way, it underlines the free-for-all of elusive loyalties, stinging betrayals and unrequited vengeance as the U.S. military withdraws, its erstwhile allies splinter, the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki remains tentative and everyone vies for power ahead of national elections.
In short, no one is in charge in Thuluyah. Khalil was -- until his arrest. . . .
After Hussein's fall, powerful tribes with the names of Jabbouri, Khazraji, Ubaidi and Bufarraj filled the void. But Khalil soon played his own role. The Americans persuaded tribal elders to make him a member of the city council, as a representative of the town's clergy. The honeymoon was brief, and by year's end, Khalil's zeal against the occupation, what he called a cancer in his sermons at the Caliphs Mosque, brought him into the insurgents' ranks. By August 2006, he had joined al-Qaeda in Iraq, a homegrown Sunni movement that U.S. officials say is led by foreigners and that soon seized control of Thuluyah, imposing a vision of Islamic law that banned smoking in the street.
You will begin to enjoy a cigar when you commit to it.
I learned that line from David Haddad, owner of Fumar Cigars out of Phoenix. It's a line that works well if you substitute almost anything passion-worthy in this world.
Tonight, however, the passion is cigars.
Now you must understand that I have been a big cigar smoker for more years than I care to admit--but I will admit that I began well before the trend took off. . . .
Part of the entertainment was a special visit by David to the Camp Victory cigar club. The party was staged on the veranda of the JVB; we came to learn that the military is big into close containment of all their charges. That includes staging the event outside one door.