Tobacco.org

• Saudi father pays son $267,000 as reward for quitting smoking 

A successful Saudi businessman from Taif, a city in the Mecca Province, paid his son a $267,000 reward for quitting smoking, the Lebanese As-Safir newspaper said on Thursday.

The son learned of the gift when he asked bank officials why such a large sum had appeared on his account.

"I'm glad that after nine years of smoking my son finally managed to get rid of this bad habit," said the father, whose name was not disclosed.

Saudi Arabia, the 23d largest consumer of cigarettes, has witnessed a major anti-smoking campaign in recent years.

Jump to full article »

• Traders Offer Bribe to Stop Anti-Smoking Campaign 

Tobacco traders in the Kingdom offered a bribe of SR4 million to organizers of a campaign titled “Family Without Smoking ... For Protection from Cancer” to stop it, said Fahd Al-Suleimani, president of Iman Charitable Society for the Care of Cancer Patients.

“They also offered a bribe of SR2 million if we remove the words ‘For Protection from Cancer’ from the campaign slogan,” Al-Watan Arabic daily quoted Al-Suleimani as saying at a press conference held to announce the campaign.

He said the monthlong campaign, which began yesterday, includes a three-kilometer walk on the Jeddah Corniche on Wednesday with the participation of Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal and Saudi singer Muhammad Abdu.

Jump to full article »

• Marba to Become Kingdom's First Tobacco-Free Community 

Fed up with an unhealthy habit, village leaders in Marba, 150 km north of Yanbu, have vowed to make their hometown the Kingdom’s first tobacco-free community.

“Convinced of the health hazards of consuming tobacco, local shopkeepers are cooperating with our efforts,” Saud Saad Al-Orfi, chief of the village, told Arab News.

The ban includes sheesha . . .

Abdullah also pointed out that several scholars in the Kingdom have issued fatwas prohibiting tobacco smoking.

Village leaders will take their campaign to local schools for the benefit of teachers and students. Some have even called for Friday sermons highlighting the dangers of smoking.

Jump to full article »

Anti-Smoking Campaign Billed a Success 

After seven days of awareness-raising efforts among the growing number of women smokers, the Anti-Smoking Society in the Makkah Region concluded its campaign yesterday. The group focused on popular hangouts where Saudi women enjoy blowing smoke.

“We found the experience successful and women were aware and open to receiving advice and know more about the risks they are taking,” said Om Al-Hosn Al-Sharif, head of the women’s department at the society.

There are approximately 600,000 Saudi women that smoke, according to Dr. Abdullah Al-Badah, supervisor of the anti-smoking program at the Health Ministry.

During the first and second days of the campaign, women members of the society distributed flyers and brochures on Jeddah’s Corniche with facts about smoking and its dangers. They included information about smoking shisha (water pipe tobacco) as well.

Jump to full article »

• King: Health Care Needs Will Be Met Regardless of Cost 

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah stated yesterday that the government would leave no stone unturned to strengthen the health sector.

“Nothing is expensive when it comes to people’s health,” the king said, emphasizing the government’s readiness to meet the requirements of the health sector regardless of cost.

King Abdullah made this comment after receiving World Health Organization’s (WHO) shield in appreciation of his efforts to combat smoking and for declaring Makkah and Madinah as tobacco-free cities.

Health Minister Dr. Hamad Al-Manie presented the shield to the king during a reception at Al-Yamamah Palace in Riyadh, the Saudi Press Agency said. . . .

Saudi Arabia, where a considerable number of people smoke, has launched a strident campaign against tobacco. Dr. Abdullah Al-Badah, supervisor of the Anti-Smoking Program at the Health Ministry, has called for increasing tariff on tobacco imports from 100 to 200 percent. “Imposing higher import tariff is the best way to cut down tobacco consumption,” Al-Badah said.

Jump to full article »

Smoking Rampant Among Students 

A study of 1,050 students in Jeddah and Riyadh revealed that smoking, especially water pipes, is fairly widespread among students from rich families.

The survey covered college students aged between 18 and 26. A significantly high incidence of smoking was associated with high-income families.

The findings support another study conducted in Riyadh, which showed that 44 percent of male medical students interviewed in the capital smoked sheesha and 32.3 percent smoked cigarettes.

More than 90 percent of the students were aware of the link between smoking and heart diseases, yet only 75 percent were conscious of the fact that smoking is also responsible for strokes.

Jump to full article »

• Smoking Rampant Among Students 

A study of 1,050 students in Jeddah and Riyadh revealed that smoking, especially water pipes, is fairly widespread among students from rich families.

The survey covered college students aged between 18 and 26. A significantly high incidence of smoking was associated with high-income families.

The findings support another study conducted in Riyadh, which showed that 44 percent of male medical students interviewed in the capital smoked sheesha and 32.3 percent smoked cigarettes.

More than 90 percent of the students were aware of the link between smoking and heart diseases, yet only 75 percent were conscious of the fact that smoking is also responsible for strokes.

Jump to full article »

Persian Gulf States Battle Tobacco Firms  

Saudi Arabia wants to bring the national battle it has waged against 14 tobacco firms to higher grounds by asking the rest of the Persian Gulf states to also sue cigarette companies operating in the region. Dr. Tawfiq Khoja, director general of the Executive Bureau of the Gulf Cooperation Council of Health Ministers said Tuesday it will not allow the cigarette producers to influence further young Middle Easterners to take up the habit.

To slow down nicotine consumption in Saudi Arabia, the state filed a suit against 14 tobacco firms, asking for a $2.7 billion (10 billion riyal) compensation to cover the medical bills for locals with smoking-related ailments. In addition, the Saudi government is asking for a $133 million (500 million riyal) annual payment to cover the cost of ongoing treatment. Riyadh also wants to end tobacco sponsorship at sporting events.

The habit claims 7,000 lives in Saudi every year, mostly young people. Dr. Khoja disclosed 45 percent of them are people in their mid-20s, 27 percent high school students and 13 percent female teachers.

Other Gulf states are beginning to pick up the battle. Last week the United Arab Emirates started to implement the second phase of the smoking ban covering restaurants, cafes and shisha stores. The region has the biggest smoking rate in the world, with 24.3 percent of puffers school children.

Jump to full article »

Ramadan Provides 'Ideal Break' to Quit Smoking 

With Muslim smokers already refraining from the habit during daylight hours this month, a number of health experts and officials say that Ramadan is the perfect opportunity to kick the habit for good.

According to Dr. Abdullah Al-Baddah, director of the Tobacco Control Department at the Ministry of Health, Saudi Arabia ranks 23 worldwide in terms of smokers in population per capita. Each year Saudis consume as many as 15 billion cigarettes and inhale 40,000 tons of tobacco smoke.

"We in the Tobacco Control Department make use of the occasion ... to urge smokers around the Kingdom to utilize the chance Ramadan offers to give up smoking,"

Jump to full article »

Setback in $2.67bn suit against Big Tobacco  

Saudi intends to sue international tobacco firms unless they agree to pay the full costs of treating patients for tobacco-related illnesses. (Getty Images)

Saudi Arabia’s 10 billion Saudi riyal ($2.67 billion) lawsuit against the tobacco industry took a step back on Tuesday as representatives of the unnamed companies failed to attend the first hearing, causing the court case to be postponed until October 31.

“All health officials concerned in the case appeared at the trial within the specific time appointed by the judge. No representatives from the companies came,” said Ibrahim Al-Musaitee, head of the legal department at the Health Ministry, quoted Saudi daily Arab News.

Jump to full article »

• Tobacco firms' absence in court 'unjustifiable' 

Riyadh: The case filed earlier by the Saudi Ministry of Health against representatives of tobacco companies in the kingdom has been adjourned until October 31, the ministry's legal department's director Ebrahim Al Misaiteer announced. . . .

The WHO representative in Saudi Arabia criticised the absence of tobacco company representatives from the court session. He described this absence as "unjustifiable".

He noted that if representatives or agents of tobacco companies are right they should present their evidence in court. He said in the United States alone more than 12 million people have died between 1964 to 1999 because of smoking and that the cost of treating patients who have smoking-related diseases reached $175 billion (Dh642b) during the same period.

Jump to full article »

• Tobacco Companies Fail to Show Up; Hearing Postponed 

The first court hearing in the lawsuit filed by the Health Ministry against two international tobacco companies over smoking-related cancer and illnesses in Saudi Arabia was postponed yesterday as representatives of the tobacco companies failed to show up.

Sheikh Muhammad Al-Fayez, the Riyadh Higher Court judge who is presiding over the case, postponed the hearing to Oct. 31. According to a senior Health Ministry official, two major international tobacco companies have been sued in the case. The names of the companies were not disclosed. . . .

The Ministry of Health is suing international tobacco companies for SR10 billion to cover the health care costs in smoking-related illnesses. In addition, it is asking for another SR500 million compensation to be paid annually. "Part of the SR500 million will go as funding to the ministry to build more anti-smoking clinics in the Kingdom," Al-Fayez said.

The health official noted that the sales of cigarettes have increased in the Kingdom in the past several years.

Jump to full article »

Jeddah to launch anti-smoking drive 

This summer Jeddah is likely to be less smoke filled as the Charitable Society to Combat Smoking is to launch a public awareness campaign as part of its efforts to make Jeddah a smoking-free city.

According to one report, six million people in the kingdom spend around SR5 billion annually on cigarettes, smoking around 15 billion cigarettes each year. A single Saudi on average smokes 2,130 cigarettes in a year.

Nearly 23,000 people die in the kingdom each year as a result of smoking-related diseases.

The society will host the first national forum tomorrow to enhance public awareness on the harmful effects of smoking and drugs.

Jump to full article »

High Rate of Lung Diseases Discussed 

The rate of Saudis suffering from pulmonary tuberculosis is six percent higher than among the expatriate population, according to a medical paper presented at the recently held “Conference of Saudi Society for Thoracic Medicine and Surgery in Jeddah.” . . .

Another speaker, Dr. Hajjaj, said chest diseases in the Kingdom were on the increase as was the case with several other countries despite the advancement of early detection techniques. “For instance, asthma, which has been observed to be on the increase, could be attributed to the alarming levels of environment pollution,” the doctor said. He also linked the widespread smoking habit in the Kingdom to the increase in pulmonary diseases.

Dr. Hajjaj also expressed concern about the trend of dangerous addiction to tobacco-based shisha and maasel, which are no less dangerous than smoking. The doctor lamented that Saudi women have also become habitual smokers and shisha users.

“Therefore it is imperative that intense awareness campaigns detailing the diseases caused by smoking be undertaken,”

Jump to full article »

22% Saudis Smoke Cigarettes: WHO 

According to recent statistics provided by the World Health Organization (WHO), as many as 22 percent of Saudis smoke cigarettes with 25 percent of them suffering from diabetes and 15 to 20 percent experiencing high blood pressure.

“About 50 percent of Saudis suffer from high cholesterol levels in blood and 36 percent from obesity,” the WHO said, adding that about 10 million of the Kingdom’s population suffer from at least three major factors that cause heart diseases.

Doctors say people should abstain from smoking,

Jump to full article »