“However, there is still hope that an intensive campaign to make aware of the members of the society about the harmful physiological and psychological effects of smoking would help many people to quit this habit,” he said.

According to Al-Bar, free time is the major factor for the growing habit of smoking among most youngsters, including women. “They first begin smoking for passing time. Then, it quickly becomes a habit.”

“Some of them see smoking as something that asserts their individual freedom while some others get accustomed to it after emulating their elders and friends,” he said while noting that there are several women who start smoking as something that gives them a feeling of being equal with men especially if there are male smokers in their families.

Referring to the smoking habit of youngsters, Al-Bar said that there are two types of young smokers. The first group is those who receive proper care and attention from their families. They get accustomed to smoking as an act that asserts their individual freedom and later they develop a habit to blame their elders for their tobacco addiction.

As for the second group of youngsters, they start smoking as a token of protest for not getting enough care and attention from the family and eventually become smokers.

Al-Bar said that many young smokers are instrumental in developing this bad habit among their friends who do not smoke. “They are lured into smoking while they are in the company of friends. These smokers have a hidden agenda to share the society’s criticism against smokers with these newcomers. These addicts don’t have any guilty conscience for promoting the wrong act,” he said.

According to Al-Bar, there are many adults who turn to smoking either to relieve feelings of stress at their work place or to run away from facing harsh realities of life.

“Many people who started smoking as a pastime have turned into chain smokers thanks to the marketing strategies of tobacco traders. They cash in on the smoking habit of many people to earn huge profit,” he said while attributing springing up of more and more shisha smoking areas in public places to this business strategy.