JEDDAH, 24 October 2004 — Despite the best efforts to contain smoking and the health hazard it causes, people continue to puff away. A visit to a stadium during a football match would convince one that Saudi youngsters are taking to smoking in a big, destructive way.
Naif Ali, an Ahli fan, said, “If you are a soccer fan and you go to the stadium, then you are a smoker even if you do not smoke. During a big match, look at the stadium from a distance and you can’t miss the pall of gray cloud hanging over the stadium and you can see how successful the anti-smoking campaign is. Smoking is banned inside stadiums and yet we see many people smoking away merrily.”
Taha Al-Shibani said, “I hate smoking and because of that I stopped going to the stadium. Police search fans at the gates for lighters but they allow packs of cigarettes inside.
“Logically, if a fan has a pack of cigarette with him, it means that he is hiding the lighter somewhere. Police do not have enough time to search everybody thoroughly because of the long line of fans waiting to get in. Why can’t police flush smokers out? It is very sad because you see young kids at the age of 15 and 16 smoking. Why can’t police stop these kids from smoking?”
Yasir Al-Thebaiti, a local Ittihad fan said, “We should call the stadium the local cancer development center because once inside anyone who is not a smoker will automatically become a passive smoker. If you want to breath, you have to inhale smoke because a majority of people in the stadium are smokers who have no consideration for non-smokers sitting with them.”
