Jump to full article: Agence France Presse (AFP) (fr), 2009-05-29
Intro: Want to indulge in a guilt-free tobacco experience? Then head to Lebanon, a smoker's paradise where you can work, dine and have your hair styled in a cloud of smoke.
The anti-smoking lobby is barely a blip on the radar and the government cares little about the issue.
So the price of Cuban Havanas is among the world's cheapest, cigarettes are free of punitive pricing and the health warnings are barely visible on the side of packs -- a far cry from the bold warnings and images the World Health Organisation (WHO) is promoting this Sunday on "World No Tobacco Day".
Even teenagers can afford the average one dollar per pack, compared to an average seven dollars (five euros) in France or nearly nine dollars in Britain.
"The minute you land in this country you start huffing and puffing," said Ghazi Zaatari, a physician and chairman of the department of pathology at the American University of Beirut as well as head of a WHO study group on tobacco regulation.
"As far as tobacco is concerned, Lebanon is a health disaster."
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As far as tobacco is concerned, Lebanon is a health disaster.
Ghazi Zaatari, a physician and chairman of the department of pathology at the American University of Beirut as well as head of a WHO study group on tobacco regulation.
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