When planning the strategy to achieve the noble goal of making the Prophet’s city, Madinah, the first tobacco-free city in the world, it was only natural that the first steps should start at the Prophet’s Mosque. Hence, the city and its surrounding area were divided into three circles with the intention that work should progress from the inner to the outer circle. The inner circle has a radius of one kilometer from the Prophet’s Mosque. The governor and the city council issued several regulations applicable to this circle, including a regulation banning the sale of cigarettes and all tobacco products within this area. Needless to say, when a smoker finds that he cannot obtain tobacco within this area, he would ask for an explanation, which is always ready: Tobacco smoking is forbidden, and as such it cannot be made easy in the Prophet’s city. A few months later, the same regulation was extended to cover the middle circle with a 5-kilometer radius.
Stricter regulations were then applied. Thus, all sales of tobacco and its products are banned in any shop that sells food, including supermarkets, throughout Madinah. An order was also issued banning the renewal of all licenses to sell tobacco within the third circle, including shops and supermarkets that overlook this circle which has a 15-kilometer radius from the Prophet’s Mosque. All tobacco agencies that are licensed to cell and distribute tobacco have also been banned from delivering any tobacco product to shops and commercial facilities within this third circle. No vehicles belonging to these agencies are allowed in Madinah.
Thus, the regulations that are necessary to make tobacco largely unavailable in Madinah have been put in place. Further action was taken to ensure that smoking in public places was banned. Wherever was possible, posters, stickers and other notices were placed to ensure that smokers do not pollute public places with tobacco smoke. One area that proved difficult to monitor was the city airport. Although notices were prominently placed everywhere, including every table in the airport cafeteria, smokers paid no attention, realizing that waiters could not stop them even if they tried. Friction between people using the cafeteria was not infrequent. Action was clearly needed. Now the tobacco control organization in Madinah and the local authorities have intervened, to make the airport authorities responsible for ensuring that Madinah airport will be tobacco-free.
Dedicated to the achievement of its goal and making its vision a reality, so that Madinah will be the first tobacco free city throughout the world, the Charitable Organization realized that it should be fully informed about new developments in the area of tobacco control. Therefore, it established an information center with a database monitoring tobacco control efforts and activities. Thus, innovative approaches are made available to study and adapt.
It is well known that tobacco companies have been targeting women in their efforts to promote their foul product. They plainly said that women provide a great area for expanding their markets. It is typical of tobacco companies to try to spread the killer diseases that are caused by tobacco smoking to women also. Why should they be concerned when a woman develops cancer or heart disease as a result of smoking? They are only interested in increasing their profits.
Realizing this, the organization to combat smoking in Madinah established a special department to work among women. This department has been active in girls’ schools in Madinah, making young and adolescent girls fully aware of the risks smoking represents to female health. This is particularly useful because a schoolgirl is likely to be a mother within a few years. If she is fully aware of the health risks of tobacco smoking, she does not only steer away from it herself, but she ensures that her children will not pick up this foul habit in future.
The organization recognized that the majority of its efforts should concentrate on the young generation, so as to prevent the spread of tobacco smoking among them. We will devote the next article to its efforts in this area.
But it is important also for the success of its efforts that adults should be addressed. Hence, it undertook a program for increasing awareness of the serious effects of tobacco smoking among visitors to the Prophet’s Mosque. The program aimed at providing motivation for smokers to quit, and to encourage nonsmokers to take part in anti-smoking efforts in their hometowns and countries.
The Madinah organization also endeavors to make use of special occasions to spread a variety of messages explaining the health risks of tobacco smoking to the smoker and the nonsmoker alike. Thus, on the occasion of World No-Tobacco Day, the organization produced short TV messages that were broadcast on satellite television. It worked closely with some media channels to increase output of information material that explain the great dangers tobacco smoking poses to human health.
These efforts have gained much appreciation by the World Health Organization, the international organization concerned with health. WHO is closely monitoring the efforts undertaken in Madinah, hoping that they will be crowned with success and that Madinah will soon be tobacco-free, in the full sense of the term. This will provide an example for other cities and countries to emulate. Thus, Madinah will give the world an important lesson in how to look after the health of its people.
