Tobacco.org

• Cheap tobacco driving youth to become smokers 

Lebanese health experts calling for a comprehensive smoking ban have been given additional impetus to their cause after a major international public affairs magazine published a major study warning youth smoking rates were increasing dangerously. In a report published earlier this month by the Economist Intelligence Unit with sponsorship from international pharmaceutical company Pfizer, researchers warned that cheap and easily accessible tobacco was driving Lebanon's youth to take up smoking, a habit many will continue into adulthood.

The 28-page report, entitled "Tomorrow's regular customers? Stamping out tobacco use in the Middle East and Africa," also noted that while many countries were now introducing smoking bans in public places, the developing world was seeing a steady increase in smokers, accounting for some 70 percent of the world's total smokers in 2005, compared to about 40 percent in 1970.

The developing world will thus pay the highest price for tobacco use: the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that by 2030, 80 percent of tobacco-related deaths will occur in low- to middle-income countries, the report said.

In Lebanon, over 3,500 people die each year because of tobacco exposure at a cost of around $900 million, according to the Health Ministry.

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• GCC will not increase tariffs on cigarettes 

At a time when anti-smoking campaigners are calling for an increase in cigarette duty to discourage smokers, a source at the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) said there would be no increase in cigarette tariffs.

The source, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the GCC is committed to the World Trade Organization (WTO) and that this commitment does not allow GCC countries to increase cigarette duty by over 100 percent, which is already implemented. “In order to increase it, we have to be involved in negotiation with more than 120 member countries of the WTO,” he said.

He added that a meeting of GCC ministries of finance, custom and health is to be held next month to discuss the issue.

Newspapers in the Kingdom recently reported a SR1 increase on packets of cigarette, an increase of 20 percent. Asa’ad Jawhar, an analyst, said the slight increase would not stop smokers from buying cigarettes.

“The price is not high enough to discourage smokers from buying cigarettes. If we compare the prices of cigarettes in the Kingdom with European countries and the United States, we will find that our prices are 50 percent cheaper than the price in EU countries and the US. In Italy, for example, the price of a pack of cigarettes is the equivalent of SR23,” he said.

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• Tomorrow’s regular customers? Stamping out tobacco use in the Middle East and Africa (PDF) 

Tomorrow’s regular customers? Stamping out tobacco use in the Middle East and Africa is a research paper written by the Economist Intelligence Unit and sponsored by Pfizer. . . .

The findings are based on more than 40 interviews with experts from government, academia, NGOs and the tobacco industry in the Middle East, Africa and elsewhere. We would like to thank the Economist Intelligence Unit’s extensive network of country analysts for organising and conducting most of these interviews. . . .

This report focuses on one portion of the developing world—the Middle East and Africa (MEA)— which has become a key battleground in the struggle over government policy and public attitudes.

Although the region can lay claim to adult smoking rates mostly on par or lower than those of many Western and developing nations, expanding populations mean that even if rates were to stay relatively steady, the absolute numbers of smokers would still rise.

The MEA region also poses other deeply entrenched challenges. These include rising youth smoking rates, particularly among girls, a prevailing culture of acceptance around tobacco, especially the water pipe, widespread governmental ambivalence and a strong tobacco industry lobby. But charities and other non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have gained a foothold in recent years. They often work on a shoestring, but are increasingly supported with much-needed financial lifelines from rich Western philanthropists.

“There is a change in mentality in our region. Ministries of health are working with the WHO and other NGOs—bringing together all the people working on tobacco control,” says Dr Jean-Pierre Baptiste, a regional adviser with the WHO’s Tobacco Free Initiative in Algeria. He is one of more than 40 experts from government, academia, NGOs and the tobacco industry interviewed for this report.

But are their efforts enough? In this paper, we investigate the progress that has been made, the challenges that remain, what lessons can be drawn from successful policies elsewhere and how the landscape could look in a decade or two. We examine ten major markets in-depth—four in North Africa: Egypt, Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia; two in Sub-Saharan Africa: Nigeria and South Africa; and four in the Middle East: Lebanon, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The key findings of the report are highlighted below.

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• Middle East governments losing US$162 million in tobacco excise taxes each year 

Starting today, British American Tobacco Middle East is hosting a two-day conference for key stakeholders across the region to help tackle the issue of illicit tobacco trade. Taking place in Beirut, Lebanon, the conference will shed light on different experiences in combating illicit trade of tobacco products across the region.

The opening ceremony is being attended by key figures including the Lebanese Minister of Finance Dr Mohammed Shateh, as well as customs and other government entities; and their counterparts from Jordan, Syria and Yemen as well as members of the top management team of British American Tobacco Middle East.

Over two days, the conference is looking at key issues including combating illicit trade; the impact of tax on illicit trade; country specific experiences including Lebanon, Yemen, Syria and Jordan. British American Tobacco Middle East is sharing its experience and knowledge of tackling illicit trade in the tobacco sector, as well as facts and figures on the size and scale of the issue, how the company is combating the problem, and its views on the World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) Protocol on Anti Illicit Trade.

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• Ramadan fast means hard times for smokers 

"I don't want to quit smoking," said Romaneh, 42, who lights one Gauloise Light with another, inhaling deeply in between sips from a glass of thick Arabic coffee. "Smoking is a joy."

Like Romaneh in this West Bank Palestinian city, millions of Muslim smokers get on a nicotine roller coaster during Ramadan, which ends this year in late September. But health campaigners are increasingly trying to get them to quit altogether, using Ramadan as a springboard for anti-smoking drives.

A London mosque runs a "Stop smoking for Ramadan, stop smoking for life" appeal on its Web site, and a Saudi volunteer network is trying to bring that message to 10 million Arab Internet users. . . .

Clerics might be reluctant to issue a fatwa that forces Muslims to choose between faith and addiction.

"(Even) if you say 'haram,' people will keep smoking because they are addicted," said Imam B. Prasodjo, a sociologist in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, where almost two-thirds of men smoke. Prasodjo is trying to persuade Muslim leaders to at least impose a ban on cigarette advertising. . . .

Smoking is embedded in the culture of many Muslim countries. About 63 percent of men smoke in Jordan; 49 percent in Tunisia; 42 percent in Syria; 38 percent in the Palestinian territories and 28 percent each in Lebanon and Morocco. Few women smoke because of cultural taboos.

Cigarette packs in Egypt carry graphic images such as a dying man in an oxygen mask. In Jordan, billboards warn about the risks. In Lebanon, many restaurants have no-smoking zones.

But it remains a battle, even — and perhaps especially — during Ramadan.

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• Law to combat smoking awaits Cabinet approval 

A new law to combat smoking in public and workplaces has been drafted and is awaiting Cabinet approval. Those smoking in public places will be fined SR200.

Suleiman Al-Sabi, secretary-general of the Charitable Society to Combat Smoking, urged those affected by smokers at work and public places to take legal action against them, demanding compensation.

"Parents should file lawsuits against teachers who smoke in schools as well as against traders who sell cigarettes to their children," he said.

He said the new law, which will be effective a year after its publication in the official gazette, was prepared by the committee of experts at the Council of Ministers. . . .

The law is significant as Saudi Arabia tops the list of tobacco importers, according to 2007 statistics. Iran is placed second, followed by Jordan, Turkey, Morocco and Egypt. He said cigarette smoking has so far caused the death of 3.48 million people worldwide this year, including 13,929 in Saudi Arabia.

He said the charitable society had asked GCC customs officials to raise customs tariff on cigarettes by 200 percent.

"Unfortunately they did not approve that proposal, saying it needed further study," he said. Al-Sabi emphasized the need for strict control on the sales of cigarettes.

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• Living in a haze of tobacco smoke  

The World Health Organisation's (WHO) latest report, "Global Tobacco Epidemic 2008-MPOWER Package", has thrown up interesting facts and figures about passive smoking in Qatar. WHO's country report shows that a large number of womenfolk in Qatar are passive smokers.

The report says an estimated 33.8 percent of youth in Qatar are active smokers. Of this 12.7 percent are female.

But the proportion of Qatar's passive female smokers is an alarming 46.8 percent. This is the percentage of women who are exposed to smoke inside their homes. The rate may even touch 50.3 percent, the report states.

Significantly, the number of males exposed to tobacco smoke inside homes in Qatar is less than that of females.

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• Tobacco curbs hit Bidi exports  

The bidi export market is seeing a downward trend and confusion prevails among bidi exporters about the actual figures. But exporters present a unanimous front on the reasons for the fall. The restrictions on tobacco the world over are seen as the chief reason for the exporters' woes.

Low-cost cigarettes seem to be the other villains. Bidi exporters are slowly losing hold over the Middle East, which has been the mainstay for many companies, like Nimex Trading Corporation. “The Middle East accounts for about 90% of our exports,” says Nimex proprietor Parvez A Khatri. The Asian population in these countries constitutes the major clientele for bidis. However, cigarette manufacturers in Bangladesh who are supplying their wares at cheap rates, are beginning to eat into their markets.

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• Cigarette sales in GCC down 12% due to smoking ban  

Ban on smoking in public places and selling tobacco to people under 20 have cut sales of cigarettes in the GCC by 12 per cent, according to industry experts.

Total sales across the region are about 60 billion cigarettes a year and Saudi Arabia is the largest market with an annual total of 12 billion. Small- and medium-sized tobacco manufacturers expect their business volume to decline further due to increased taxes and restrictions in regional markets.

But global giants such as British American Tobacco and Philip Morris International (PMI), which dominate the market, recorded an increased sales in the first quarter of 2008 mainly due to higher turnover in East Europe, the Middle East and Africa (Eema).

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• Middle East smokers develop lung disease at younger age 

People in the UAE and other Middle Eastern countries are developing lung disease at a younger age and the trend is set to worsen, researchers warned.

The 46-country Greatest International Antibiotic Trial (Giant) studied the prevalence of acute exacerbate chronic bronchitis (AECB), a form of lung disease, and the effectiveness of Bayer Schering Pharma's antibiotic in treating it.

It found a majority of the 4,300 subjects in the Middle East were reporting the disease at 48.5 years old, the youngest compared to other regions.

The average age for lung disease in Latin America was 63.1 years, followed by Europe at 60.5 and Asia-Pacific with 57.1 years. . . .

He warned the outlook in the Middle East was grim: "What is happening here is what has happened in the US and Europe 20 years ago. There are more women smokers [and] it's going to get worse if nothing changes."

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• Smoke alarm from Afghanistan to Morocco 

Under WHO’s Tobacco Free Initiative (TFI), the 21 Member States of WHO’s Eastern Mediterranean Region, are stepping up tobacco-control efforts. The Initiative was launched in 1998 and WHO’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC), which is now one of the most widely supported treaties in the history of the United Nations, entered into force in 2005.

The moves can’t come soon enough, according to Dr Fatimah El-Awa, the regional adviser for the Tobacco Free Initiative at WHO’s Office for the Eastern Mediterranean Region, which is based in Cairo.

“When we talk about tobacco, some people still look at us and laugh, saying, ‘Well, people are starving and dying from poverty and you’re talking about tobacco.’ But they don’t understand that tobacco contributes to poverty.”

With stronger tobacco control policies, including smoking bans expanding in public areas like restaurants in more parts of the United States of America (USA) and Europe, cigarette manufacturers are dumping their toxic merchandise in other parts of the world such as the Eastern Mediterranean Region, making tobacco control measures even more imperative, says El-Awa. The region comprises 21 Member States, from Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia in north Africa, through the Gulf countries, the Islamic Republic of Iran and the rest of the Middle East to Afghanistan and Pakistan in south Asia. It also includes Djibouti, Somalia and Sudan in sub-Saharan Africa.

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• Smoking is "One of the Biggest Health Threats" for the Middle East 

Local and international experts on the medical and social effects of smoking have gathered in Dubai to discuss a strategic plan to reduce its impact on health and wellbeing in the region.

Among the issues under discussion were the results of recent research that revealed that 54 percent of smokers in the UAE are younger than 30 years of age, demonstrating the scale of potential future health problems unless the widespread addiction to tobacco is curtailed.

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• Mideast Employees Vote for Smoking Ban in the Workplace 

Pressure is mounting on Middle East companies to ban smoking in the workplace, according to the latest survey by GulfTalent.com, the region's leading online recruitment portal.

The survey found that an overwhelming 98% of professionals favour some form of smoking restriction in their workplace. Of the total respondents, who included both smokers and non-smokers, 54% preferred a complete ban on smoking inside office premises, while a further 44% believed that the workplace should be largely smoke-free, with smoking only permitted in certain designated areas.

Only 2% of professionals surveyed were completely opposed to any form of smoking restriction.

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• 32pc of professionals in Qatar smoke at workplaces  

A survey carried out by recruitment portal GulfTalent.com reveals Middle Eastern countries are among the most smoker-friendly in the world.

DOHA * There's bad news for the votaries of 'Quit Smoking', at least in the case of professionals in the Middle East.

Qatar, which has imposed a blanket ban on smoking in government offices and public places and with many private companies following suit, still has 32 per cent of professionals who smoke in the workplace. Forty-two per cent of private offices are free of smokers, a survey carried out by recruitment portal GulfTalent.com said.

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• Mideast employees vote for smoking ban in the workplace 

Pressure is mounting on Middle East companies to ban smoking in the workplace, according to the latest survey by GulfTalent.com, the region’s leading online recruitment portal.

The survey found that an overwhelming 98% of professionals favour some form of smoking restriction in their workplace. Of the total respondents, who included both smokers and non-smokers, 54% preferred a complete ban on smoking inside office premises, while a further 44% believed that the workplace should be largely smoke-free, with smoking only permitted in certain designated areas.

Only 2% of professionals surveyed were completely opposed to any form of smoking restriction.

Currently around 10% of companies have no smoking restrictions in place, while a large number of companies who do have official smoking bans fail to enforce them fully – with many staff, including some senior managers, reportedly flouting the rules.

According to GulfTalent.com, many human resource departments across the region have recently introduced smoking restrictions in their workplaces.

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