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Tobacco giant JTI quizzed over shipment to Syrian tycoon 'bankrolling Assad's terror' 

A tobacco giant behind three of the UK's leading brands is under investigation after millions of its cigarettes were shipped to a firm linked to a billionaire accused of playing a key part in suppressing the popular uprising in Syria.

The development has revived concerns about the ability of "big tobacco" to police its distribution networks – third party agents who move its product around the world.

Japan Tobacco International (JTI), which owns the Silk Cut, Mayfair and Benson & Hedges brands, faces questions over its relationship with a firm associated with Rami Makhlouf, who is subject to European Union and US sanctions.

Documents obtained by the Observer show that on 27 May 2011, JTI's Middle Eastern distributor, IBCS Trading, dispatched 90 million cigarettes to Syria Duty Free Shops (SDF) Ltd.

Makhlouf, a cousin of the country's president, Bashar al-Assad, was the main shareholder in SDF on 9 May 2011, the day the EU subjected him to sanctions for providing "funding to the regime allowing violence against demonstrators" and for being "an associate of Maher al-Assad", the feared commander of Syria's Republican Guard.

He has become the target of anti-Assad demonstrators in recent weeks as the UN attempts to agree a resolution on imposing further sanctions – strongly opposed by Russia and China.

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VIDEO: Smoking ban burns Syrian businesses 

Syria is the first Arab country to enforce a ban on smoking in all public places, including cafes and restaurants. The decree was signed last November by Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian president, who is also a qualified medical doctor, but the law was not implemented until last Wednesday. Many businesses have said that the ban is already hurting trade in a country where it is believed that more than 20 per cent of women and 60 per cent of men are smokers. Al Jazeera's Bhanu Bhatnagar reports.

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• ELASS: Investigating a trail of smoke in Syria is not so simple 

The ban was issued as a presidential decree, the highest executive authority, and it went into effect on April 21. All businesses seemed to adhere well to it at first. One observer even commented that policemen, eager to slap fines on violators, “went home disappointed” that entire first month.

But now some businesses were trying to bend the rules. . . .

“Ms Elass? You filed a smoking complaint against an establishment last week?” the woman said.

“Yes,” I said, confused. For a moment, I thought I must be dreaming. The Damascus municipality was following up on my smoking complaint? Perhaps I had fallen asleep too long and had woken up in, say, Switzerland?

“We would like to inform you that the establishment was fined and given a warning. They have a week to produce the paperwork they claim allows them to smoke. Otherwise, we will forward their case to the police.”

But I returned to the mall after that and found there was still smoke rising from those coffee shops. Clearly, I was still in Syria.

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• Arab countries exchange 'lessons learned' from tobacco control 

Arab countries shared the barriers and challenges they have faced while implementing new tobacco control policies during a workshop held at AUB.

Entitled "Framework Convention on Tobacco Control [FCTC] policies and their implementation in Arab countries," the four-day event was held on June 28, 2010. It was co-hosted by the Tobacco Control Research Group at AUB, the Syrian Center for Tobacco Studies (SCTC), in collaboration with Framework Convention Alliance (FCA) in Eastern Mediterranean region, the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco (SRNT), and Tobacco Free Kids.

"It was an opportunity for us to learn how to anticipate potential challenges and find ways of overcoming them," said Assistant Professor Rima Nakkash, the coordinator of the Tobacco Control Research Group at AUB.

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• Syria's smoking ban sends cafe clientele away in packs  

In the shadow of the storied Umayyad Mosque, at the heart of Damascus' old city, one of the last classical Arabic storytellers takes to his throne in the Al-Nawfara Coffee Shop. Rashid Hallak, better known as Abu Shadi -- it means "father of Shadi," a common affectionate reference to a man's eldest son -- appears here almost every night.

He may not perform much longer, though. Syria has a new indoor smoking ban, which took effect April 21, and it threatens to hasten the end of the hakawati, the storyteller who relates such stories as tales from A Thousand and One Nights.

Fewer people are coming to the cafe . . .

The new law makes it illegal to smoke at indoor cafes, restaurants, bars and other indoor public venues. It also strengthens enforcement and increases fines under previous, narrower smoking restrictions.

For smoking at an indoor cafe, fines are stiff for this country, where per-capita income was $4,490 in 2008. A smoker can pay a fine equal to $44, and the cafe owner can be hit with a $550 fine.

The ban collides with Syria's water-pipe culture. Water pipes, also known as hookahs, are the chief reason to visit coffeehouses for many people.

Water pipes "are not a tradition here in Syria that we have to live with and we have to protect," argues Bisher Daaboul, 40, who is on the board of the Syrian Society for Smoking Cessation. He notes water pipes have been in fashion only since the 1990s.

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• Syria's smoking ban leaves cafes empty and water pipes abandoned 

Damascus' oldest cafe, the Havana, used to be packed with customers whiling away the hours sipping coffee and puffing on a water pipe, but today it is three-quarters empty.

Like so many other places in the world, Syria has been hit by a ban on smoking in public places. . . .

In the Al-Rawda cafe, another popular hangout for Damascenes, the outdoor smoking section is packed and the sweet smell of narguileh tobacco smoke fills the air.

Abdel-Karim, 40, smokes two-and-a-half packets of cigarettes a day and resents the law that came into force on April 21, which he calls "unjust." "It doesn't take into account the fact that over half of Syrians are smokers. A smoker should be allowed to smoke in public places," he says.

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VIDEO: Smoking ban burns Syrian businesses 

Syria is the first Arab country to enforce a ban on smoking in all public places, including cafes and restaurants.

The decree was signed last November by Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian president, who is also a qualified medical doctor, but the law was not implemented until last Wednesday.

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• MOUBAYED: 'Hands-up!' You've been smoking in Syria 

It has been very amusing I must say, watching society prepare itself for the smoking ban that went into effect on April 21, 2010.

Hours before the ban was implimented, while seated at one of the coffee shops in Damascus, I said to a friend, “Say farewell to an era; the argeelah craze that took over Syria since the mid-1990s, is finally coming to an end!”

Back in 1996, only a handful of cafes tolerated Turkish pipe smoking in Syria. Ten years down the road, it was difficult to find a venue in Syria that does not provide Turkish pipes—not to forget the door-to-door service, known as “arageel delivery!”

The new law, passed six months ago by President Bashar al-Assad, says that any indoor café or restaurant with no open ceiling will not be able to serve Turkish pipes, or tolerate the smoking of cigarettes, pipes, and cigars.

That applies to all pubs, lounges, and the hundreds of cafes that have mushroomed all over the Syrian capital in recent years. No more cigar chomping at the Piano Bar in Old Damascus or at the lounges of the Sheraton Hotel and Four Seasons. . . .

Will the law really go into effect, and how serious will the “smoke police” be in implementing it?

Those who have seen the experience succeed in Europe are optimistic that the experience can easily be copied in Syria.

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SYRIA: ANTI-SMOKING LAW IN FORCE, START OF NEW ERA 

The tables are vacant, the chairs empty and an unusual silence greets visitors to Rawda, Damascus' historic cafe, while all this morning's customers a packed into the open courtyard, with their mouthpieces for the hubble-bubbles between their lips and a cup of steaming tea between their fingers. Smoking is allowed only outside today because across the country, the law banning smoking in public places has come into force. Keeping itself apace with the main European countries and stealing a march on their regional neighbours, Syria has broken the untouchable taboo in this part of the Arab world, where cigarettes, cigars, pipes and water have for decades now spelt virility and success for men and emancipation and charm for women.

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Syria begins smoke ban 

Syria began on Wednesday implementing a smoke ban in enclosed public places including restaurants, coffee shops and internet cafes.

Mixed feelings greeted the decree, which has been a law since late 2009 but without any measure to enforce it. Not all establishments were compliant on the first day of the smoke ban.

“We’re expecting to receive the formal directive from the authorities in the next day or two,” said Doris Kallab, manager at Gemini Group, which owns several restaurants throughout Syria.

“Once we receive it, our team of managers will go out to our outlets and ensure compliance.”

According to the ruling, violators can be fined up to $800 per incident.

Syria has one of the better records in the region for implementing anti-tobacco policy recommended by the World Health Organisation. This includes a total ban on advertising tobacco in local media and billboards, whereas neighbouring Lebanon still allows such advertisement.

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Smoking ban in public goes into effect in Syria  

A smoking ban that few are expected to abide by went into effect in Syria Wednesday, a country where people light up even in hospitals.

The ban targets most public places such as restaurants, cafes, schools, universities, hospitals, parks, movie theaters, museums and public transport.

The law, which also forbids the sale of cigarettes to minors, was approved six months ago by President Bashar Assad, a British-trained eye doctor.

The Middle East’s favorite pastime — smoking water pipes — is also prohibited in public under the new law except in well-ventilated and designated areas. Also outlawed are tobacco advertising and the sale and import of sweets and toys modeled after tobacco products.

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SYRIA: SMOKING BAN DECREE ENTERS INTO FORCE ON WEDNESDAY 

Smoking Ban Legislative decree no. 62 for 2009 will be put into effect on Wednesday.

The decree stipulates banning smoking during meetings, conferences, training activities and official seminars, as well as banning the sale and distributions of tobacco products in specific public places and setting up independent well-ventilated areas for smokers.

Ministries, establishments and authorities concerned took the necessary steps for carrying out the decree in order to achieve its goals of preserving public health and protecting non-smokers from the dangers of passive smoking. . . .

Minister of Torusim Saadalla Agha al-Qalaa said that hotels will have specific rooms for smokers, with 30% of rooms for smokers and the remaining 70% for non-smokers. Smoking can be allowed or banned during conferences hosted in hotels according to a prior agreement between the party organizing the conferences and the hotels owners.

Smoking will be allowed in restaurants with open spaces and terraces, as well as closed restaurants with partially open roofs. Smoking will not be allowed in restaurants that are completely closed.

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• Smoking ban in public goes into effect in Syria 

A smoking ban that few are expected to abide by went into effect in Syria Wednesday, a country where people light up even in hospitals.

The ban targets most public places such as restaurants, cafes, schools, universities, hospitals, parks, movie theaters, museums and public transport.

The law, which also forbids the sale of cigarettes to minors, was approved six months ago by President Bashar Assad, a British-trained eye doctor.

The Middle East's favorite pastime — smoking water pipes — is also prohibited in public under the new law except in well-ventilated and designated areas. Also outlawed are tobacco advertising and the sale and import of sweets and toys modeled after tobacco products.

Offenders will face fines ranging between $45 and $870 and a possible three to 12 months in jail.

"The ban is good, but I doubt I will stop smoking," said businessman Bassam Shanna, 47.

The ban's effects are already being felt in Damascus' famous cafes. . . .

Other Arab countries are also struggling to create a more smoke free environment.

In the tobacco-loving Arab world, people smoke in offices, universities, taxis, hair salons and even hospitals and smoking has long been a social imperative and a rite of passage for young men.

Packs can cost as little as 50 cents in some Arab nations.

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• Syria smoking ban enters into force 

A decree banning smoking in Syrian cafes, restaurants and other public spaces has entered into force.

The decree also outlaws smoking in educational institutions, health centres, sports halls, cinemas and theatres and on public transport.

Workers must not smoke during meetings and businesses need to provide well-ventilated areas for smokers.

The restrictions include the nargile, or hubble-bubble pipe, which is popular among locals and tourists.

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• It's going to be tough to take a puff in the Mideast 

Syria's long-awaited smoking ban goes into effect on April 21 with a six-month grace period drawing to a close. President Bashar Al Assad had officially approved the new rules back in October 2009. The smoking ban builds upon an earlier decree passed under Syria's late president Hafez Al Assad in the 1990s, which had banned the advertising of any tobacco-related products in Syria.

Health Minister Rida Said defended the ban saying it "protects the rights of non-smokers, many of whom are children, and is an important step towards reduction of smoking-related illness". . . .

Asked about the law, restaurant and cafe owners concur that they will abide by the law given that it is a presidential decree that cannot be broken. Other means of luring customers, like live music for example, cheaper prices, or better food, are being considered. Some managements noted wistfully that the "argeelah boom" that had grown on Syrian society in a span of 15 years, is at an end.

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