RIYADH, 7 March — Doctors and paramedical staff in the Gulf states smoke more than the general public, according to a study conducted for the Gulf Health Ministers’ Council. The study, released here last week, has triggered a debate among officials on the effectiveness of measures to curb the scourge.
GCC officials feel that it is high time they move to buck the tobacco tide that is set to claim 10 million people by 2030 globally, over 70 percent of them in developing world. The Gulf governments are exerting special efforts to check this trend and to protect the younger generation from getting into the smoking habit. Gulf governments have stepped up efforts to contain the habit among their citizens, who consume 50 billion cigarettes annually.
The Kingdom, which alone consumes more than 15 billion cigarettes a year, recently opened 10 specialized anti-smoking clinics. This is besides 40 specialized clinics already operating here, according to the Saudi Charitable Anti-Smoking Society.
According to the study, one-third of the health workers in the GCC are smokers. In the UAE, 44 percent of male doctors are smokers and a very substantial percentage of female doctors also smoke regularly.
