At long last, the Kingdom has passed a law to combat smoking. The law is a step forward toward being civilized. It is a step forward toward fighting diseases that not only affect smokers but those around them as well. It is bad enough that many smokers do not care about other people or public health. Many people who smoke are in fact killing themselves.
We have all seen a smoker who simply cannot wait until the plane is on the ground to light up. If the smoker could have waited a few minutes until leaving the airport building to start smoking, he or she would have done a service to many people.
Some smokers walk into stores and shops with cigarettes dangling from their mouths. They blow smoke everywhere with no regard for the feelings or health of others. What an example of good manners it would be if the smoker at least put out the cigarette before entering the shop.
I must say that enforcing this new law will protect future generations from a deadly poison. The law also will require some new regulations — such as strictness in issuing permits for coffee shops. The authorities should also force these coffee shops to ban young people who may not be aware of the harm they are doing to their health.
There are many public places which are crowded with people, day and night. These places should be under constant surveillance. Most of us know that there were laws in the past banning smoking in some public areas, particularly airports. Unfortunately, those laws were neither respected nor enforced despite the fact that “No Smoking” signs were everywhere.
Laws are important in themselves, but it is even more important to enforce them. Officials charged with enforcing the laws must do their jobs whether they are smokers or not. One issue remaining is the matter of fines for those who violate the law and the means of collecting the fines. This has been left to the discretion of the Ministry of Health, which must cooperate with municipalities, traffic departments, the civil aviation department and the passports department. I urge these various departments to set fines and make them publicly known — and then to carry them out absolutely, leaving no violation unpunished.
We in the media also have our responsibility. We must observe those who enforce the law and comment on the effectiveness of the law and its enforcers. We also have a duty to alert officials to violations. Laws and regulations can only succeed if people respect them and cooperate with those who enforce them.
Arab News From the Local Press 26 August 2003
