Jump to full article: The National Newspaper (ae), 2008-11-02
Author: Jeffrey Todd, Correspondent
Intro: Recently, his breathing became so laboured he responded to a get-help ad in the newspaper.
He called the Syrian Centre for Tobacco Studies, an organisation dedicated to raising awareness about the dangers of smoking.
. . .
Founded in 2002, the clinic consists of three rooms jammed with medical equipment. Patients smoke water pipes while doctors monitor their vital signs.
It is here Mr Yareen receives counselling for his addiction. But this personal battle is part of a much greater war to end Syria's love affair with smoking. And the world has noticed. Through research, health campaigns and collaborations with hospitals in Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt and the United States, the centre has been recognised with the Hamdan Award for best medical institute in the Arab world.
From this small office, researchers have worked with the American University in Beirut to study the harmful effects of water pipe smoking; Jordan University to investigate smoking among youth; John Hopkins University in the United States to research Arab children's exposure to second-hand smoke; and the University of Newcastle in the United Kingdom to study the determinants of women's health in poor cities in Syria.
The centre is supported by a five-year grant from the US National Institutes of Health.
Abdulla bin Souqat, the director of the Hamdan Awards, said the Syrian Centre is a rallying force that works to dispel strong misconceptions associated with smoking.
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