Ziad Al-Memish, deputy minister of health for preventive medicine, said his ministry has planned out a comprehensive program during the next six months to combat smoking.

"The Saudi Guideline for Smoking Cessation Services will be introduced during this period to provide up-to-date evidence-based medical reference for the governmental centers and nongovernmental clinics providing the smoking-cessation service," said Al-Memish.

The deputy minister said the Kingdom will target women in its campaign to combat gender-specific marketing of tobacco.

"They (the tobacco companies and marketing agencies) have started to deceive girls and women through direct and indirect misleading slogans," said Al-Muneef.

The campaign will take to social networks such as Facebook, he added.

According to a survey of smokers' attitudes toward smoking and smoking cessation conducted in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere in the Middle East and Africa, 77 percent of smokers believe that willpower is all a person needs to quit successfully. The survey, conducted by IMS Health and sponsored by Pfizer, showed that the average smoker attempts to quit three to four times, primarily using willpower.

"This survey tells us that while willpower helps smokers to make the decision to quit smoking, it alone is usually not enough to help them overcome tobacco's addictive properties," says Dr. Ashraf Amer, a consultant of family medicine at IMC hospital in Jeddah.

Support from a doctor has been shown to play a pivotal role in helping patients to make a serious commitment, which improves the chances of quitting smoking. According to the WHO, studies show that even brief advice from health care professionals can increase tobacco abstinence rates up to 30 percent.

"World No Tobacco Day is a reminder to smokers and non-smokers of the dangers tobacco poses to our health and well-being. It is also a great time to boost your willpower by committing to quit with the help of a medical professional,"  the doctor added. "As a doctor, I've committed to improve the health of my patients. Quitting is a health decision and should involve the support of a doctor."

The Kingdom is a signatory of the WHO's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control launched in May 2003. According to the treaty, signatories should ban or restrict advertising and other marketing efforts by tobacco companies.

Health warnings should cover at least 30 percent of the surface of a pack of cigarettes and all materials used to make tobacco products should be listed on the packaging. The agreement also urges governments to strengthen indoor-smoking bans, place high taxes on tobacco products and act to stop the illegal trade of cigarettes. — With input from K.S. RAMKUMAR