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Ramadan anti-tobacco campaign underway 

Dubai Health Authority on Sunday launched the Ramadan anti-tobacco campaign under the banner 'Together for a Smoke Free Society'.

Dr. Ahmad Ebrahim Bin Kalban, Executive Director of the Primary Health Care sector at the authority, said the campaign is the second phase of the Tobacco Free Dubai project. It aims to spread health awareness among all social sectors about the negative effects of smoking.

Bin Kalban urged smokers to quit starting from Ramadan, pointing out smoking-related diseases are the first cause of death.

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Dubai Customs Blocks e-Cigarette Consignment 

A shipment of e-cigarettes, which arrived at the Dubai International Airport last week, was blocked by Dubai Customs following a ban enforced by the Ministry of Health.

The ministry had banned the battery-powered product last week after tests revealed that it could be hazardous to people's health.

"We have acted upon the ban and stopped the goods from entering the country," said Mohammed Mattar Al Marri, executive director of cargo operations at Dubai Customs. "Because this is a local ban, we will allow the exporter to export the shipment back to the country of origin or on to a new destination. We are not a legislative body. We work within the legal framework established by the relevant 
government bodies."

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Positive response to anti-smoking drive 

About 10,700 inspections were conducted by Dubai Municipality under its anti-smoking campaign, said a senior municipality official.

The civic body had already kicked-off the campaign from its premises on Thursday last week by conducting the carbon monoxide test on its staff and visitors.

As part of the campaign to mark World No Tobacco Day today, the municipality is organising a lecture titled "Impact of Smoking and Ways to Quit" at the Al Twar public library at 5pm.

Reda Salman, director of public heath and safety department, said that the response to the anti-smoking campaign has so far been encouraging. A large number of individuals and institutions have adhered to anti-smoking regulations.

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More people keen on stubbing out, doctor says 

The anti-smoking campaign spearheaded by Dubai Healthcare City (DHCC) has drummed up huge public interest, a doctor involved in the drive said.

With the campaign's website (www.notobaccocampaign.com) getting 7,000 hits in two weeks, people are keen on trying to give up the habit.

About 500 smokers have already pledged to join a 30-day Quit and Win programme and the DHCC will offer them support through education and counselling, Dr Aisha Abdullah, Senior Vice President at DHCC, said on Sunday.

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More than 500 smokers in UAE pledge to give up smoking 

About 500 smokers have pledged to give up smoking for a month and the anti-smoking awareness campaign that started two-weeks ago has garnered huge public interest, a senior doctor said.

Smokers who wish to give up will be monitored after 30 days and their nicotine content in the body checked. Those who successfully quit will win a range of prizes.

The UAE is joining a world-wide effort to stop people from smoking and observing the No Tobacco Day on Sunday and Dubai Healthcare City (DHCC) will offer smokers support through education and counseling, Dr Ayesha Abdullah, senior vice president of DHCC, said.

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Major drive launched against smoking 

Health authorities are targeting children and women in a new anti-smoking campaign launched on World No Tobacco Day on Sunday, acknowledging the growing numbers of smokers among these segments of society.

Dubai Health Authority (DHA), in partnership with the Islamic Affairs Department and other government agencies, along with private partners, launched the anti-smoking campaign at Rashid School for Boys.

The campaign is divided in four phases: public awareness through government clinics, holding seminars and referrals at schools, at malls and organisations, and finally, approaching women. . . . .

Imams are being recruited to spread the word on the hazards of smoking, receiving training from medical professionals as part of Dubai's anti-smoking campaign.

Dubai Health Authority (DHA) launched the year-long campaign on World No Tobacco Day on Sunday, to roll out in four phases dealing with the community, schools, shopping malls, organisations and supermarkets, and women.

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• Campaign Aims for Tobacco-free Dubai 

The Dubai Health Authority launched an extensive anti-tobacco campaign on Sunday, targeting women and children in particular, and announced an awareness programme to be conducted in five phases till May 31 next year.

Starting this week, the campaign will also target worshippers through the Friday sermon, according to Dr Ahmad Ibrahim Kalban, the authority's Acting Director of Primary Health Care.

The awareness programme, launched to mark the World No Tobacco Day, follows recommendations by the World Health Organisation, including six policy statements against tobacco outlined in the global health body's mPower project.

Entitled Tobacco-free Dubai -- Together for a Society Free from Smoking, the campaign will begin the first phase by training physicians, raising awareness and inviting volunteers for the phases to follow.

The second phase of the campaign will start in September and will target students from G7-12 through lectures and campaigns to raise awareness.

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Dubai Chamber supports No Tobacco Campaign  

In support of the World No Tobacco Day on May 31 and the No Tobacco campaign, Dubai Chamber of Commerce & Industry - in association with the Ministry of Health, Dubai Healthcare City and Ex-Health - organised a workplace seminar at its premises recently. Dubai Chamber also announced its sponsorship of the Quit & Win competition which is part of this intiaitive.

The workplace seminar included: a skit play by students from Delhi Private School, Sharjah; a presentation from the Ministry of Health and Dubai Healthcare City; health check ups from doctors; the launch of a pledge and competitions to encourage and support employees who wish to quit smoking.

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No shisha at public parks, warns authority 

Dubai Municipality has handed out 2,400 written warnings to people smoking shisha at public parks last month.

The Public Parks and Horticul-ture Department this week in-stalled signs at park entrances warning people that shisha smoking is no longer allowed. "One hundred and sixty-two people carrying shishas turned away after they saw the sign," said Ahmad Mohammad Abdul Karim, Director of the Department.

"This is the first step in the municipality's plan, in coordination with Dubai Health Authority, to ban smoking in all parks and recreational areas. Municipality inspectors, along with Dubai Police, are monitoring parks for all kinds of violations and safety hazards. We ask the public to cooperate with us, as this will benefit everyone," he added.

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Not worth a spit? Dubai targets popular Asian chew 

Be warned: Spitting here could get you deported.

We're not talking just any kind of spit. In this case, it's the red-tinted juice of a popular Asian leaf that's causing the fuss as Dubai tries to buff the image of its less-posh districts. . . .

The director general of the Dubai municipality, Hussain Nasser Lootah, announced Monday a clean streets campaign that specifically targeted the use and sale of betel - a fast-growing vine whose leaves are widely chewed with tobacco, cloves or with the hard areca nut. The popular mixture is known as "paan," from the word pan in Urdu, and promotes a reddish saliva.

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Shisha Smoking Banned in Dubai 

The Dubai Municipality (DM) has banned the smoking of shisha in parks, beaches and recreation areas of the emirate, Wam reported on Thursday.

Khaleej Times reported on Wednesday that the civic body was planning to impose a ban or a regulation against shisha smoking in parks and beaches in a bid to protect public health. . . .

Salem bin Mesmar, Assistant Director General for Health, Safety and Environment Control at the civic body said the decision is deemed a complementary step for the programme that is being carried out by the DM to regulate smoking at public parks, beaches and recreational places in the emirate. The decision was important as parks, beaches and recreational areas are visited by families and children.

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Dubai's antismoking campaign to intensify  

Dubai Municipality is stepping up efforts to control smoking in public and to enforce laws against shisha in some coffee shops.

Last year the authority sent out notices to the city's cafes, giving them until the end of December to adhere to the rules. Yet more than 25 per cent of the coffee shops in Dubai continue to flout the regulations by serving shisha, officials said. They warned that violations would not be tolerated much longer.

Redha Salman the director of the public health and safety department at Dubai Municipality, said that the campaign against public smoking would be intensified. "More rules and regulations will be introduced this year to stop violations," he said.

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Tobacco control law may come into force soon 

The federal tobacco control law is expected to be implemented by the end of the year once the Federal National Council (FNC) holds deliberations on various aspects of the legislation that have been delayed by the summer holidays and Ramadan.

The draft law has seen several delays since the Ministry of Health announced its intention to pass a tobacco control law for the UAE in keeping with the country's commitment to the World Health Organisation (WHO) Framework Convention of Tobacco Control. Officials had initially expected the law to come out at the end of 2006.

Dr Wedad Al Maidoor, head of the National Tobacco Control Committee, told Gulf News the draft law has been slotted for FNC debates on November 11. The next step is to submit it to the Cabinet for discussion before ratification by the UAE President.

"The federal tobacco [draft] law is ready but we will not have the FNC meeting till November. By the end of the year, God willing, it will come out," she said. . . .

The draft law will not ban shisha cafes as originally intended, but will instead limit their operation. It proposes that shisha cafes be operated on the ground floor outdoors but bans any shisha cafe from operating in residential buildings.

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• Shisha smoking will be strictly regulated 

The regulations governing shisha-serving outlets will be strictly implemented in the next few months, but the municipal authorities in Dubai have not banned smoking of shisha during the holy month of Ramadan.

This was stated by Redha Hassan Salman, Director of Public Health and Safety Department in Dubai Municipality, after reports of a "ban on shisha" appeared in a section of the media.

"Shisha smoking in public places will be strictly regulated, and the cafes found not complying with the municipality rules will be soon ordered closed. The programme that we launched in November 2007 is to gradually regulate shisha smoking, and we have not initiated any ban on shisha outlets," Salman told Khaleej Times.

"We have also devised a new strategy to regulate the setting up of Ramadan tents where shisha is served. Only 4-star and 5-star restaurants will be allowed to set up tents and the activities conducted in the tent will be monitored," he pointed out. . . .

SHISHA REGULATIONS

Shisha outlets must be enclosed, and with proper ventilation system

Shisha outlets must display a cautionary notice prohibiting the entry of people below the age of 20

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• No smoking while driving 

Come 2009, Dubai would be outlawing smoking while driving. If it does, Dubai would become probably the first city in the Middle East to penalise people who smoke behind the steering wheel.

The Dubai Road Safety Strategy, being prepared by a Sweden-based consultancy company, is likely to be implemented next year.

The strategy would focus on several traffic safety issues, including smoking while driving, Hussain Mohammed Al Banna, Director of Traffic Department at the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) told Khaleej Times on Tuesday.

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