Tobacco.org

Visual warning awaits smokers  

Pictorial warnings will soon be prominently displayed on cigarette packets against the dangerous consequences of tobacco consumption in the Sultanate as part of a unified GCC decision, said HE Dr Mohammed Bin Saif Al Hosni, Undersecretary for Health at the Ministry of Health Affairs, on Tuesday.

Talking to Oman Tribune on the World No Tobacco Day celebrations, Al Hosni said that the details of the decision was in the final stage and it would soon be implemented in the country along with other GCC countries.

On the outcome of the measures taken by the government to discourage tobacco consumption, Al Hosni said that there was encouraging results of the efforts being made in the country by the Muscat and Dhofar Municipalities as well as the Ministry of Regional municipalities.

He said that the Muscat Municipality had decided to 'streamline' smoking habits in the closed areas and it had very positive results. "A study was carried out about the effects of such measures. This showed that the air became cleaner in closed areas as well as it changed the behaviour of smokers who now go out of closed areas to have a fag," said Al Hosni . . .

Al Kiyumi, who is also member of the National Committee of Tobacco Eradication, urged that the efforts to achieve the goal must continue.

According to the latest Health Ministry data released this year for the period between 2003 and 2009, there has be no change in the price of tobacco since 2003, when it was just 0.5 rial for 250gms. In 2009, the price reached 0.6 rial for 250gms.

However, according to the data, there has been drastic decline in the quantity of yearly import of tobacco to the Sultanate from 17.8 million kg in 2003 to 13 million kg in 2009.

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Call to enforce treaty on use of tobacco products  

The Sultanate joined hands with the rest of the world to mark the ‘World No Tobacco Day’ to celebrate the successes of the World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) in the fight to curb tobacco epidemic, at the City Season’s Hotel yesterday.

Nonetheless, in spite of the fact that the WHO recognises that challenges remain for the public health treaty to reach its full potential as the world’s most powerful tobacco control tool, this annual occasion is aimed at drawing the global attention to the widespread prevalence of tobacco use.

The occasion, which is held under the slogan ‘The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control’ is also designed at stressing on the negative health effects of tobacco use, which currently results in a number of deaths worldwide.

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Oman celebrates “No Tobacco Day” today 

Muscat: Oman is celebrating World No Tobacco Day today that falls on May 31st of every year under the theme (World Health Organization (WHO) Tobacco Control Treaty).

Ceremony organized by Health Ministry represented by the Non-Infectious Disease Control Department will witness the participation of three experts from WHO, Framework Convention Alliance and Kingdom of Bahrain.

The celebration will present an overview of the WHO treaty, the global efforts for combating tobacco and the role of the civil community in supporting the implementation of the Framework Alliance for Tobacco Control and presentation of the successful examples for fighting tobacco in the regional states.

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Muscat City Centre Clears the Air with its No Smoking Policy 

In a move designed to make the Muscat City Centre experience more enjoyable for more people, all open areas of the mall are about to become smoke free.

The City Centre is among the first to apply the Muscat Municipality initiative to ban smoking in all enclosed public places, and anyone caught lighting up inside the mall after April 1, will be told to leave or escorted from the building. Muscat City Centre will provide designated areas for those who still wish to smoke, but will strictly enforce the boundaries of those areas.

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Anti-Smoking: Think about it  

This is unquestionably a fantastic anti-smoking print advertisement launched in Oman to urge people to quit smoking. The advertisement is no doubt designed in a manner to hit the most dangerous aspect of smoking that it affects brain. The advertisement is showing ‘IQ’ written in the middle of the advertisement and the letter ‘I’ is displayed by placing a cigarette. The burning cigarette appeared in the advertisement has shown reaching the end of it to depict the letter ‘I’ would be disappeared and only Q will be left for display.

The advertisement clearly conveys that the cigarette directly affects the brain and consequently the intelligence of a person.

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• Bollywood legend in smoking row 

Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan has been threatened with legal action over a film poster that depicts him smoking a cigar.

India's National Organisation for Tobacco Eradication says if Bachchan does not reply to its legal notice in eight days it will take him to court.

The government banned tobacco adverts in 2003 and last year announced strict rules on smoking in films and on TV.

Bachchan is recovering at home from surgery last month.

The National Organisation for Tobacco Eradication (Note), a non-governmental organisation, says Bachchan has broken the law.

Its secretary, Shekhar Salkar, told the BBC the film hoarding was of Bachchan's forthcoming film, Family.

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Smoke-free environment push 

The UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Qatar are among 79 signatories to the WHO Framework on Convention on Tobacco Control, reported Gulf News. The protocol is designed to promote smoke-free public areas, and includes bans on tobacco promotions and a tax and price increases on tobacco products. The deadline for compliance is February 2006.

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Seminar on WHO's anti-tobacco covenant 

Dr Ahmed bin Abdul Qadir Al Ghassani, undersecretary at the Ministry of Health for health affairs, in the presence of Dr Al Fateh Zainul Abideen Al Samani, representative of World Health Orgnisation to the Sultanate, inaugurated a seminar on the introduction of WHO's anti-tobacco covenant.

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Visit Muttrah clinic and quit smoking 

"Come to our clinic and quit smoking!" This was the simple message that Mohammed Ali Khan Feroz, radiographer and coordinator of the first free anti-smoking campaign at the Muttrah Clinic, next to the Muttrah taxi stand, in wilayat Muttrah, wanted to put across to the public.

The clinic, which will have a three-day anti-smoking drive on its premises, starting today and concluding on Monday, plans to not only drive home the anti-smoking message, but also try to reform as many smokers as possible in Muttrah wilayat.

The anti-smoking drive will be held at their clinic from 5pm to 8pm.

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Quit-Smoking Clinic opens 

Al Hayat Heart and Lung Centre in Al Khuwair launched ‘Quit Smoking Clinic’ yesterday on the occasion of No Smoking Day, which falls on May 31.

The clinic, launched as part of Al Hayat’s community services, will function under the guidance of Dr K.P Raman and Dr K.G Rajan at the Heart and Lung Centre.

Dr Rajan said smoking is the commonest preventable cause of death and several studies have highlighted the value of intervention. “It is important not only to encourage people to quit but also to organise a quitting programme in a clinic set-up and follow them regularly to improve their will power and monitor their withdrawal symptoms if any,” he said.

Smoking is well recognised to cause cancer of the mouth, larynx, lungs, stomach, pancreas and urinary bladder due to their carcinogenic substances. . . .

Young smokers are increasing worldwide, more than 80 in developing world and Oman is not an exception.

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20 per cent youths between 13 and 18 ages are smokers, says top cardiologist 

Prevalence of smoking in Oman among students between the ages of 13 and 18 is as high as 20 per cent and between 23 per cent and 25 per cent among adults, a top private sector health official said yesterday.

Quoting Ministry of Health figures, Dr K. P. Raman, cardiologist and medical director of Al Hayat Polyclinic, said: "The MoH statistics state that a survey done in schools showed that the prevalence of smoking is as high as 20 per cent in students aged 13 and 18 and in adults, the estimated prevalence is between 23 and 25 per cent."

Dr Raman said that Oman was taking many steps to discourage people from smoking. "Some of the steps that they have taken include: Health education to the public, banning smoking in public places, monitoring the advertisements in the right manner, taxing the tobacco product and making it expensive to the public."

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100 youths participate in Quit Smoking' contest 

MUSCAT The Ministry of Health, represented by national committee for combating smoking, distributed prizes to the winners in a quit-smoking contest held under the motto, Quit and Earn for the Year 2004'.

The contest was organised by the Ministry of Health in conjunction with the National Institute for Public Health in Finland from May 2 to 29.

The four-week-long contest was conducted worldwide and the Sultanate participated for the third time.

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No smoking' at City Centre Food Court 

MUSCAT In line with the Muscat Municipality directive against smoking in public places, Muscat City Centre has implemented a no-smoking' policy at the Food Court beginning from this month.

Muscat City Centre hopes that this new policy will serve to improve the family atmosphere, support the efforts of the municipality and the Ministry of Health and protect all from smoking-related diseases. Also, the centre wants the customers to enjoy their food and beverages without the smoking getting in the way.

More importantly, since the Food Court is next to Magic Planet, this policy helps protect the children playing there from the harmful effects of passive smoking.

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Sightseeing in Oman? You Mustn't Miss the Smugglers 

The Iranians come at daybreak, buzzing across the green water in small boats packed with goats. They deliver their livestock to Omani traders, idle away the hot midday hours and, as darkness sets in, return to Iran, this time loaded with cigarettes, tea and clothing.

Aside from the starkly beautiful rocky fjords, tourist attractions are scarce on this remote tip of the Arabian Peninsula. Watching the Iranian smugglers come and go is about the best local travel operators can muster. . . .

But the goat and cigarette trade, running perpendicular to the oil tankers, is the only commerce the locals care about. It is said to represent over half of the economy here on the Musandam peninsula . . .

These days, however, traders like Abdullah Sadani, a 33-year-old Iranian, complain that reform in Iran is ruining business. An import deal that Iran signed with international cigarette companies in 2002 has decimated that trade, which was by far the largest and most lucrative

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Ban on smoking in public places from Sept. 

The health affairs department at Muscat Municipality has drafted a plan to ban smoking in commercial centres, shops and industrial establishments in various wilayats of Muscat governorate.

The plan was prepared in cooperation with the department of fighting non-communicable diseases at the Ministry of Health.

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