- A total of 22 people violated the smoking ban as it came into force for the first time at airports.
- Eighteen of them were at King Abdul Aziz Airport, mostly pilgrims who did not know about the new rule.
This number is considered low keeping in view the number of smokers we used to see at Saudi airports.
I warned before that there would be some people who try to break this new rule on the very first day of its implementation.
People learned quickly that the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) was serious about enforcing the smoking ban, which is evident from the sharp drop in the number of smokers at Saudi airports. GACA is to be commended for that.
The most important thing is that the rule continues to be in place, not just for the first week.
Meanwhile, a shopping center in Jeddah also announced a similar ban on its premises the same day the new rule came into force at airports. I hope the move will encourage other shopping centers all over the Kingdom to follow suit. Smoking is banned in shopping centers outside the Kingdom and ours should be no exceptions.
([email protected])
