RIYADH, 1 June 2008 — In an effort to curtail the increasing number of juvenile smokers in the Kingdom, Health Minister Dr. Hamad Al-Manie made a clarion call on young Saudis to abstain from smoking to prevent health problems that affect the nation.
The minister made this statement while flagging off a Kingdomwide “No Tobacco Day” awareness program in the capital yesterday.
“This year, the Kingdom joins the World Health Organization’s call to action on the campaign that focuses on the multibillion dollar efforts of tobacco companies to attract young people to its addictive products through sophisticated marketing,” the minister said, adding that WHO had urged its member nations to protect the world’s 1.8 billion young people by imposing a ban on all tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship.
The minister also inaugurated an exhibition at Granada Mall in Riyadh. Senior health officials simultaneously launched similar displays in Sahara Mall and Hyatt Mall in the Kingdom’s capital.
The minister said that the various health regions in the Kingdom have organized their own observances to create public awareness among the country’s youth about the menace.
The ministry also distributed brochures and pamphlets on the hazards of smoking and requested parents and teachers to set an example and teach their children about the advantages of a tobacco-free life.
Speaking to Arab News, Dr. Abdullah Al-Bideihi, head of the Tobacco Control Department in the Ministry of Health, said that recent WHO studies prove that the more young people are exposed to tobacco advertising the more likely they are to start smoking.
Despite this, only 5 percent of the world’s population is covered by comprehensive bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship.
Tobacco companies, meanwhile, continue targeting young people by falsely associating use of tobacco products with qualities such as glamour, energy and sex appeal. “A ban on all tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship is a powerful tool we can use to protect the youth,” he added.
Speaking about the incidence of smoking in the Kingdom, Bideihi said that 35 percent of students in the age group of 13 to 15 have smoked at least one cigarette. Many of these young people smoke regularly.
“Most of these youths come from a smoking environment or one of their family members is a smoker,” Bideihi said, pointing out that a portion of this group are young women.
Local studies have revealed that juvenile smoking among the less fortunate children can eventually lead to delinquency crimes.
The Kingdom imports 44,000 tons of tobacco products every year at a cost of SR2 billion, he said, adding that the Kingdom incurs an additional expenditure of SR3 billion in preventing, treating and managing smoke-related diseases.
Apart from 50 anti-smoking clinics throughout the Kingdom, Bideihi said, the ministry plans to set up a model clinic in the capital. “This will be an integrated clinic where services for the prevention, treatment and management of tobacco-related diseases will be carried out,” he said.
Dr. Shameer Al-Sabban, general supervisor of the anti-smoking campaign in Makkah, told Arab News that nearly 1.5 million of around eight million pilgrims that visit the holy city annually are smokers. “We advise these pilgrims not to smoke in buses and within the areas of the Grand Mosque,” he said.
(Smoking is already banned in the precincts of the Haram.)
“The tobacco industry employs predatory marketing strategies to get young people hooked to their addictive drug,” said Dr. Douglas Bettcher, director of WHO’s Tobacco Free Initiative. “But comprehensive advertising bans do work, reducing tobacco consumption by up to 16 percent in countries that have already taken this legislative step.”
WHO said on Friday that only a total ban on all forms of tobacco advertising can stop the “constantly mutating virus” of the marketing industry and protect vulnerable young people.
