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Smokers in the UAE will be fined between Dh500 and Dh1,000 if they light up a cigarette in a no-smoking zone once the National Tobacco Control Law comes into effect later this month.
The federal law has been cleared by the Ministry of Justice and is awaiting approval from higher government authorities, a top health official said.
The aim is to ban smoking in all enclosed public areas in the UAE. "We are committed to protect public health and prevent harmful effects of second-hand smoking. Hence, all enclosed public places must be smoke-free," said Dr Wedad Al Maidour, Head of the Anti-Smoking Committee of the Ministry of Health. This means all restaurants, malls, beverage outlets and public transport systems will fall under the law.
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o cut the number of people lighting up. (Getty Images)
Smokers in the UAE could see the cost of cigarettes soar under a government initiative to reduce the number of people lighting up, an official has warned.
Wedad Al Maidoor, head of the Ministry of Health Tobacco Control Team, said the price hike has been included in a new smoking law that is expected to come into force across the Emirates at the end of May, UAE daily the National reported on Sunday.
Director-General of the Fujairah Municipality Rashid Hamdan, issued a resolution banning smoking in enclosed public places -- commercial, vocational, professional and health firms, public transport vehicles and sports halls -- from yesterday.
The resolution said those who violate the ban for the first time will have to pay a fine of Dh500 which will be doubled for every repeated offence.
The municipality urged members of the public to file complaints if they find anyone violating the ban through the two hotlines -- 6000599900 and 800362222.
Fujairah Municipality is likely to implement in May a regulation on smoking in government departments, public facilities, markets and major commercial outlets in the emirate, Khaleej Times has learnt.
Fujairah Municipality will implement a decision to ban smoking in government departments, public facilities, markets and major commercial outlets in the emirate starting May.
Khaleej Times has learnt from Eng. Ali Qasim, head of environment protection section in the Fujairah Municipality, who also pointed that the decree is ready and will be approved in the few coming days. He announced that the environment protection section in cooperation with the Fujairah Education Zone and a number of private sector establishments, held a celebration to mark the 'Regional Environment Day' in the area of Masafi.
RAS AL KHAIMAH -- Municipal inspectors yesterday seized huge quantities of cigarette-shaped chewing gums from several grocery shops in the emirate.
The owners of the grocery shops were also fined and issued warnings.
The cigarette-like chewing gums could entice children into the habit of smoking real cigarettes, said municipal officials.
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."
The Al Ain Municipality has banned smoking in all enclosed public places, including shopping centres, malls and restaurants.
Awad bin Hasoum Al Darmaky, Director-General of the municipality, said yesterday that the ban would be enforced from April 15.
Al Darmaky said the move is in line with the national campaign against smoking which is the main cause of several diseases.
He highlighted that the Public Health Administration, which is part of the Al Ain Municipality, will organise inspection campaigns to ensure that the decision will be enforced.
RAS AL KHAIMAH -- Municipal inspectors shut down three shoe repair shops and slapped a fine of Dh3,000 each on the owners for illegally selling tobacco (niswar) to schoolchildren and youths in the emirate on March 24.
Huge quantities of tobacco products were also seized during the raid on the shops.
Adil Ali Al Deek, Head of the Health and Environment Department in Ras Al Khaimah Municipality, said there were several complaints from the residents in various areas of RAK about the sale of tobacco at the shoe repair shops despite several warnings issued to them by the RAK Municipality.
Gory pictures that highlight the hazards of smoking will be plastered on every cigarette pack sold in the GCC states, a top health official has told XPRESS.
The pictures will have images of diseased gums and blackened lungs next to a set of healthy lungs. "Both sides of the packet will have a horrific picture that shows the effects of smoking," said Dr Wedad Al Maidour, Head of the National Tobacco Control Committee. By the end of 2009, no cigarette pack will be pleasing to look at. The pictures will compel smokers to think of the health complications of smoking." . . .
* Phase one: May 31, 2007: Smoking banned at all government facilities and public places
* Phase two: September 15, 2007: Smoking banned in public areas of malls and shopping centres, coffee shops and restaurants in the emirate
* Phase three: November 15, 2007: Smoking banned in school premises, workplaces, food courts, internet cafés and health clubs
Picture and caption contest
Each country in the GCC has to create its own pictures and captions for the cigarette packets.
DUBAI - Smoking or tobacco use among schoolchildren in the UAE starts at an early age, while risk-taking behaviour of the youth have also reached alarming levels, according to the recently released Global School Health Survey (GSHS).
The survey results were presented at the 8th two-day AGCC School Health meeting held in Dubai on February 26.
The Middle East’s gradual progress towards smoke-free workplaces and hotels could have unexpected financial benefit for the region, according to a new study of attitudes towards smoking habits.
Nearly half of employers believe that smoking has a negative financial impact on their company and that their employees who smoke are actually less productive than their non-smoking counterparts. Even more surprisingly, almost a third of smokers (31 percent) agree that they are less productive in the workplace owing to their smoking habits.
The Global Workplace Survey shows that the average smoker smokes 8-10 cigarettes per day, which takes an average of half an hour. When calculated on a calendar year, this equates to approximately 17 working days – just over three weeks – lost per year, per smoker.
Across the GCC region, there are ongoing discussions regarding reducing smoking in the workplace.
By 2010, all tobacco companies in the UAE will have to carry health messages with appropriate graphic images, according to Dr Wedad Al Maidoor, head of the Smoking Cessation Committee, Ministry of Health.
'Our overall aim and hope is to reduce the incidence of smoking among people in the UAE,' she remarked at the end of a smoking cessation programme held recently in Dubai.
With more and more non-smokers concerned about the effects of passive smoking, we are hoping that it will have a knock-on effect on smokers, she added.
KT&G Corp, South Korea's top tobacco company, said on Monday it had agreed to sell 450.7 billion won ($476.3 million) worth of cigarettes to Alokozay International Limited.
KT&G said in a filing to the Korea Exchange that those cigarettes would be sold in the Middle East and Russia.
The Ras Al Khaimah Municipality on Sunday shut down a grocery shop and slapped Dh5,000 fine on its owner for selling illegal tobacco products, locally known us 'pan' and 'niswar' and expired foodstuff.
Huge quantities of expired foodstuff and packets of tobacco products were seized during the raid.
Adil Ali Al Deek, Head of the Environment and Health Department in RAK Municipality, said the municipal inspectors raided the grocery on Saturday evening after receiving a complaint from a local man who had been sold expired crisps by the grocery.
Residents of the area had also complained that the grocery was selling tobacco products to children.