RIYADH, 27 May — The Kingdom will start a three-year national campaign to combat smoking and a budget of SR34 million has been set aside for the purpose. Ali ibn Muhammad Al-Umari, head of the organizing committee, said a panel comprising representatives of 60 government and private agencies had been formed to spearhead the campaign.
He said the campaign was aimed at checking the unprecedented rise in the number of smokers, making Saudi Arabia the No. 1 tobacco importer in the world. The latest statistics issued by the Ministry of Commerce shows that the annual consumption of tobacco in Saudi Arabia has reached 21 tons, estimated to cost SR635.25 million.
According to the head of a charity society, some 35 percent of boys and 30 percent of girls in the Kingdom’s schools are smokers. Lung cancer ranks third in the list of fatal diseases in Saudi Arabia.
