Jump to full article: Gulf Times (qa), 2010-08-10
Author: Noimot Olayiwola
Intro: Some 36% of Qatar’s population use tobacco in one form or other and 10% of the smokers in the country are children, a Public Health and Disease Control consultant said yesterday.
Speaking at a one-day symposium organised by the Supreme Council of Health to highlight the harmful effects of second-hand smoke, Hamad Medical Corporation’s Smoking Cessation Clinic head Dr Ahmad Mohamed al-Mulla said the majority of the smokers in the country was aged 18 years and above.
“Some 10% of these smokers, who mostly use cigarettes and shesha, are children. Another 6% are women, while some 2% are students, who began smoking at the age of 12-15 years,” he said.
According to statistics released by the Ministry of Public Health recently, smokers in Qatar consume about 1bn cigarettes a year with 40% of the adults and 22% of the teens smoking. . . .
In an opening speech, the SCH Public Health department director Dr Mohamed al-Thani said that smoking was the second major cause of deaths worldwide, stressing that one hour spent in a room with a smoker increased the possibility of lung cancer by 100% for non-smokers.
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