http://www.tobacco.org/newsfeed/country/lebanon.rss Latest top tobacco news headlines en-us http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Local-News/2012/Feb-01/161698-restaurants-and-other-renegades-stamping-out-smoke-ahead-of-ban.ashx http://tobacco.org/news/333147.html Although Lebanon has yet to fully implement a nationwide smoking ban due to take effect in September, some establishments have taken the initiative to forbid smoking of their own accord - and well ahead of time. "When you enter a coffee shop, you should smell coffee - not smoke," explains Serge Khatchikian, manager at The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf on Hamra Street, which has been smoke-free since it opened last year. He acknowledges he has received complaints from smokers who want to light up indoors, particularly in the winter. However, he has gotten an almost equal amount of praise from non-smokers who are happy to find one of the few places in Beirut where they can enjoy a cup of tea indoors in a smoke-free environment. . . . Lebanon's nationwide smoking ban, signed by parliament in August, requires all indoor establishments - including restaurants, bars and cafes - to forbid smoking indoors, and makes it the third Arab country (after Syria and the United Arab Emirates) to promulgate such a law. Beirut Daily Star Lebanon Wed, 01 Feb 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Local-News/Sep/30/Secondhand-smoke-affecting-nations-youth.ashx http://tobacco.org/news/332938.html Sitting in a smoking cafe serving narguileh is as bad for your health as sitting in Beirut's famous Salim Slam Tunnel during rush-hour, new findings have shown. Cancer-causing pollution levels inside one of Beirut's busiest passageways are roughly equal to those found in 15 of the capital's restaurants that sold water pipes, research conducted by the Health Ministry-affiliated National Tobacco Control Program (NTCP) has revealed. In both cases the concentration of ultra fine particles - deemed exceedingly dangerous because of their ability to penetrate deep into the lungs and reach the bloodstream - was deemed "hazardous" to health by World Health Organization (WHO) standards. Levels in the tunnel proved to be almost 18 times higher than acceptable levels, while those in cafes were on average 15 times the levels considered safe for human health by the WHO. Almost half of the cafes surveyed, however, actually had higher levels than Salim Slam, with one being 25 times more polluted, the NTCP found. "The difference between the two locations, is that in restaurants that serve narguileh, you sit for hours, while it takes less than a minute to pass through Salim Slem Tunnel - most of the time with the windows closed," the NTCP said. Beirut Daily Star Lebanon Thu, 30 Sep 2010 04:00:00 GMT http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Local-News/2011/Dec-22/157673-ndu-students-creatively-protest-lax-smoking-policy.ashx http://tobacco.org/news/330937.html Wearing Santa hats and shooting smokers with water guns might be an unconventional way to protest a university's lax smoking ban. But it has certainly gotten the attention of the intended targets - students, faculty and administration. "The university wasn't doing anything to implement the anti-smoking ban, and we wanted to shed light on the subject," said Mary-Joe Alavalas, a political science student at Notre Dame University-Louaize and one of the organizers or the 2011 Smoke Parade, who Wednesday, while wearing a Santa Clause hat, shot a water gun at smokers to protest the university's lax anti-smoking ban. This was their second such protest in two months. The first was in mid-November, when students began challenging the lax ban, lighting up indoors throughout the university to prove that their behavior would go unpunished. Although they were asked to leave certain areas, nobody suggested they should be penalized. "It really made a splash. A lot of people noticed," said Eugene Sensenig-Dabbous, a professor at NDU and a supporter of the student-led demonstration, which was first organized six weeks ago through Facebook, fliers and word of mouth. . . . Wearing a Santa hat, he posed as a smoker - and target - for the student protesters, as they shot him with water guns. Not knowing it was staged, several nearby smokers extinguished their cigarettes to avoid getting sprayed Beirut Daily Star Lebanon Thu, 22 Dec 2011 05:00:00 GMT http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Article.aspx?id=156376 http://tobacco.org/news/330261.html Four months after Parliament approved a law to ban smoking in public places, Parliament members said Thursday that the first phase of implementation has began and urged officials to be vigilant in enforcing the measure. Speaking during at a news conference at Parliament, Beirut MP Atef Majdalani told reporters that there are three major phases for the implementation of the new smoking policy and described the penalties for those who fail to follow the law. The first stage, which went into effect in September, bans smoking in government buildings, hospitals, pharmacies, schools and universities, cinemas, stadiums, on public transportation and in private companies. Violators of the law are subject to penalties ranging from a LL100,000 fine to three months in prison. “All those who thought such a law would not be implemented will now be disappointed ... we will not hesitate to hold people accountable,” said Majdalani. Metn MP Ghassan Moukheiber said that more needs to be done to ensure the proper implementation of the smoking ban in the country, including at Parliament. Beirut Daily Star Lebanon Fri, 09 Dec 2011 05:00:00 GMT http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Article.aspx?id=156376 http://tobacco.org/news/330260.html Four months after Parliament approved a law to ban smoking in public places, Parliament members said Thursday that the first phase of implementation has began and urged officials to be vigilant in enforcing the measure. Speaking during at a news conference at Parliament, Beirut MP Atef Majdalani told reporters that there are three major phases for the implementation of the new smoking policy and described the penalties for those who fail to follow the law. The first stage, which went into effect in September, bans smoking in government buildings, hospitals, pharmacies, schools and universities, cinemas, stadiums, on public transportation and in private companies. Violators of the law are subject to penalties ranging from a LL100,000 fine to three months in prison. “All those who thought such a law would not be implemented will now be disappointed ... we will not hesitate to hold people accountable,” said Majdalani. Metn MP Ghassan Moukheiber said that more needs to be done to ensure the proper implementation of the smoking ban in the country, including at Parliament. Beirut Daily Star Lebanon Fri, 09 Dec 2011 05:00:00 GMT http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Local-News/2011/Nov-19/154569-ndu-students-challenge-lax-smoking-ban-on-campus.ashx http://tobacco.org/news/329123.html BEIRUT: Seeing the effective enforcement of a smoking ban at other universities across the country, a group of students at Notre Dame University-Louaize couldn't understand why their campus couldn't share the same approach. Friday they challenged the lax ban, lighting up indoors throughout the university to prove that their behavior would go unpunished."We walked into classrooms [smoking], and the library," said Adriana Bou Diwan, a political science student. Although they were asked to leave certain areas, nobody suggested they should be penalized. While their movement is relatively small, the students believe they have successfully gotten their message out, and they say they will continue their action until the university enforces its smoking ban. "People wondered what was going on. It was enough to send a message," says Diwan. "The university has had an anti-smoking policy for five years which is not being implemented," said Eugene Sensenig-Dabbous, a professor at NDU Beirut Daily Star Lebanon Sat, 19 Nov 2011 05:00:00 GMT http://www.presstv.ir/detail/204693.html http://tobacco.org/news/327512.html What is known here in Lebanon as the Narjileh, also known as Hubble bubble, shisha, or hookah, has become an everyday way of leisure. When you go to restaurants close by the Beirut sea shore, almost every table has two or more hookas being smoked. The irony of the situation is that many smokers believe that smoking a narjileh is much lighter and therefore less harmful than the hazards of cigarette smoking: It wouldn't take you long to find a Hubble bubble store, where you can buy pipes, tobacco, hoses, coal containers, and tongs. The latest trend is home delivery. Even people under the age of 18 seem to be victims of the social pressure to smoke a hookah as a relaxing pastime with friends. Experts warn that smoking a tobacco water pipe for one hour is as harmful as smoking up to 200 cigarettes. PRESS TV Lebanon Sat, 15 Oct 2011 04:00:00 GMT http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Business/Lebanon/2011/Oct-05/150487-tobacco-union-farmers-wont-release-crops-without-price-update.ashx http://tobacco.org/news/327121.html The head of Lebanon's tobacco union said Tuesday farmers would not release this year's crops until new pricing was issued that would meet the needs of agricultural workers. "Tobacco farmers will not release their crops this year until after the issue of the new price list that should address the demands and hardships of the farmers," Hasan Fakih said in a statement Tuesday, adding that farmers' problems were not with Lebanon's Tobacco Regie but with the Finance Ministry. "The farming of tobacco represents a national sector that provides minimum-wage jobs for farmers in the south, Akkar [north Lebanon] and the Bekaa [east]." Fakih said. The union leader also noted that the number of people working in the field had shrunk considerably, falling to 800 individuals from 2,400. Beirut Daily Star Lebanon Wed, 05 Oct 2011 04:00:00 GMT http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Local-News/2011/Aug-18/Parliament-passes-no-smoking-law.ashx http://tobacco.org/news/325063.html Parliament endorsed a long-awaited tobacco control law proposal Wednesday banning smoking in indoor public spaces as well as tobacco advertisements, and requiring larger pictorial warnings on cigarette packs. The law, which is not scheduled to take effect for at least one year, prohibits smoking in public places such as restaurants, bars, cafes and offices and bans all forms of tobacco advertising and promotion such as billboards and magazine adverts as well as tobacco company sponsorship of concerts and other events. Individuals caught smoking in enclosed public spaces will be subject to a fine of LL100,000. An amendment, introduced to the bill at the request of Metn MP Ghassan Moukheiber, stipulates penalties ranging between LL1 million to LL3 million for owners and managers of public establishments if their clients are caught smoking inside. Beirut Daily Star Lebanon Thu, 18 Aug 2011 04:00:00 GMT http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Politics/2011/Aug-17/New-law-bans-smoking-in-public-places.ashx http://tobacco.org/news/325022.html Lebanon's Parliament Wednesday endorsed a law banning smoking in all enclosed public places, including restaurants, bars, cafes and offices. The law was presented for vote with an amendment that would see owners of businesses fined if they fail to prevent their costumers smoking, and will also fine individuals who violate the ban. Under the new law tobacco advertising and promotion will be illegal, including billboards, magazine advertisements and tobacco company sponsorship of events and concerts. The bill also calls for a pictorial warning of the dangers of smoking covering 40 percent of each pack. The law also makes smoking onboard planes illegal. Beirut Daily Star Lebanon Thu, 18 Aug 2011 04:00:00 GMT http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Local-News/2011/Aug-04/Devil-in-the-detail-of-new-tobacco-draft-law.ashx http://tobacco.org/news/324428.html BEIRUT: From a distance, the new tobacco control draft law looks like a victory for anti-tobacco activists and public health advocates.The proposal, which is on the agenda for Parliament's legislative session Thursday, would ban smoking in all public places, including restaurants, bars, cafes and offices. . . . But "the devil is in the details," says Rima Nakkash, an assistant professor and coordinator of the Tobacco Control Research Group at the American University of Beirut, "especially when it comes to tobacco control legislation." Two details in particular are worrying Nakkash, public health groups and some lawmakers. . . . Lebanon has been required to establish a national tobacco law since the World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control entered into force in 2005. In many countries that signed the FCTC, tobacco control legislation was passed within two or three years, but Lebanon, like much of the Middle East, lags behind. Syria is the only country in the region that has banned smoking in public places. According to Hmaidan, the tobacco control draft law, along with many other bills in Lebanon, was derailed by political disruptions. The first concern involves penalties. As it stands, the draft law would fine individual smokers who violate the smoking ban in public places, while establishment owners would have no legal responsibility to prevent their clients from smoking. Metn MP Ghassan Moukheiber describes this emphasis on clients rather than owners as the draft law's "fatal flaw." Speaking to The Daily Star, Moukheiber, who sits on the Justice and Administration Committee that was responsible for drafting the law, says it is "standard procedure" in other countries' laws for the owners of restaurant, bars and other public establishments to be penalized, as well individuals. Beirut Daily Star Lebanon Thu, 04 Aug 2011 04:00:00 GMT http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Culture/Lifestyle/2011/Jul-11/Minding-manners-at-Beiruts-cigar-bars.ashx http://tobacco.org/news/323219.html BEIRUT: Don't clench it between your teeth. Do take a puff no more than twice a minute. Don't ask anyone else for a light. This should be a personal affair. Thus wrote Zino Davidoff in his 1967 protocol for cigar connoisseurs. He'd just struck a deal with Cubatabaco, Cuba's state-run tobacco producer following the revolution led by Fidel Castro, a man well known to be fond of a Cohiba or two. If it sounds a little like a manifesto, against the backdrop of burgeoning Caribbean Communism, that's because Davidoff was serious about cigars. With that diary entry, the Ukrainian-born merchant invented cigar etiquette which, according to the weighty, leather-bound menu at one Beirut tobacco bar, "is as relevant today was it was when written." It is true that the Lebanese like their cigars. Its airport is a regional destination for tobacco junkies Beirut Daily Star Lebanon Mon, 11 Jul 2011 04:00:00 GMT http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Local-News/2011/Jun-18/Lebanons-first-public-smoke-free-beach-opens-in-Sidon.ashx http://tobacco.org/news/321924.html he southern coastal city's public beach was inaugurated on Friday for summer 2011 and was declared to be a smoke-free area for the first time ever. The inauguration ceremony, which was organized by the city's municipality in collaboration with Sidon-based scout organizations, took place under the patronage of Sidon's Mayor Mohammad Saudi and in the presence of Lebanese and Palestinian figures. According to Mustafa Habli, an environmental activist and an official with the Future Scouts organization, the public beach was transformed into a model beach as the beach's administration decided, for the first time ever, to ban smoking and forbid beach-goers from bringing their hookahs along with them. Beirut Daily Star Lebanon Sat, 18 Jun 2011 04:00:00 GMT http://www.aub.edu.lb/communications/media/Documents/June-2011/tobacco-greeks-EN.pdf http://tobacco.org/news/321389.html Lebanon can learn from Greece, the leading smoking nation in the Mediterranean, as well as the successes made in the United States and other countries in order to implement an effective tobacco control policy, said public health and policy experts during a recent AUB lecture. “In Lebanon today you are facing what we faced 25 years ago in the U.S.; we were pushing to have bans of smoking in closed areas in restaurants and no one imagined we could do it,” said Professor Richard Daynard who teaches law at the Northeastern University School of law and is at the forefront of an international movement to establish the legal responsibility of the tobacco industry for tobacco-induced death, disease and disability. He is president of the law school's Public Health Advocacy Institute and chair of its Tobacco Products Liability Project. Entitled, “Translating Science into Effective Tobacco Control Policies: Three Perspectives,” the lecture was organized by the AUB’s Tobacco Control Research Group (AUB-TCRG) and the Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs and was held on June 2 in West Hall’s Auditorium A. Daynard noted that it would be easier for Lebanon to achieve success as it could learn from the hiccups faced by other countries that have led successful tobacco control policy development. American University of Beirut Lebanon Greece Wed, 08 Jun 2011 04:00:00 GMT http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Local-News/2011/Jun-01/Butts-out-as-Gemmayzeh-goes-smoke-free.ashx http://tobacco.org/news/320917.html Over 40 pubs and restaurants in the Gemmayzeh bar district turned smoke-free Tuesday, as customers were asked to “put it out” or “take it outside” for “Ain’t No Smoking” day. The night, the third of its kind in recent years, promotes smoke-free public spaces and events, in hope that they will calm the hospitality establishment’s apprehension about proposed anti-smoking legislation and ease the law’s passage once the new Cabinet is formed. “I think it is a great idea,” said student, Carole Azzi. “Bars get so smoky that it can be difficult to breathe. Sometimes I leave because my eyes burn and my clothes always smell, it doesn’t matter if I’m the one smoking or not.” “Ain’t No Smoking” also strives to establish a collection of bars that will remain smoke-free year round, ensuring that those who do not want to light up do not have to be exposed to harmful second-hand smoke. Beirut Daily Star Lebanon Wed, 01 Jun 2011 04:00:00 GMT