RIYADH, 1 June 2005 — The Kingdom is clearing the air about its position on smoking with the September launch of an intensive anti-smoking campaign throughout all schools.
The announcement came yesterday during a program to mark World No Tobacco Day 2005 at the King Saud Chest Hospital here.
The actions are in response to findings that more than 600,000 school students under the age of 22 are puffing their lives away in Saudi Arabia.
“The Kingdom is seriously concerned over the increasing number of youngsters taking to tobacco,” said Dr. Mansoor Naser Al-Howasi, deputy minister of health for executive affairs, while inaugurating the program. “They little realize its impact on the smokers and environment,” he noted.
He said the problem of smoking among the teens should be tackled at the grassroots level by educating them about its ill-effects at an early age. The planned school program will be geared for all students above the age of 10 so that they will learn the dangers before they reach their teenage years.
Dr. Mansoor also inaugurated an educational exhibition where pamphlets on how to quit smoking were distributed, and he formally launched the website, www.tc-sa.net, which highlights the efforts of the Kingdom’s anti-tobacco campaign.
The day’s theme was “Health Professionals Against Tobacco,” and doctors and paramedics stepped off in a demonstration march on the dais saying “No to tobacco.”
Quoting reports, Dr. Abdullah Al-Bideihi, supervisor general of the Anti-Smoking Unit at the Ministry of Health, pointed out that some 28.9 million people have died from tobacco-related diseases. Last year, he said, the Kingdom imported 41,000 tons of tobacco with a value of SR1.45 billion for local consumption. A portion of the imports are taken by expatriate workers when they go on vacation since cigarettes are more expensive in their home countries than the Kingdom.
Dr. Al-Bideihi said smoking among students is mostly due to peer-group pressure, where they follow their friends or trying to emulate a parent’s habit. Other reasons include attempting to appear important or mature by smoking or due to adolescent frustration as a result of parental negligence.
King Saud Chest Hospital Director Dr. Saeed Al-Zahrani said an anti-smoking clinic will be opened shortly to consult smokers and nonsmokers to either avoid or kick the habit. The rector of the King Saud University, Dr. Abdullah Al-Faisal, opened a campus clinic.
“This is the first time such a clinic has been set up to cater to the undergraduates in the Kingdom,” Dr. Faisal said, adding that the clinic will give its support and cooperation to all those who are interested in leading a tobacco-free life.
A total of 168 countries have signed the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), and 66 countries have ratified the treaty. On May 9, the Kingdom became the 65th country to ratify the agreement.
