JEDDAH, 25 May 2007 — Due to the increase in the number of smokers in the Kingdom, up by some 30 percent in the last five years according to some estimates, “World No Tobacco Day” is critically important to the region, say health experts and legislators.
The aim of the annual event, held on May 31 each year and sponsored by the World Health Organization (WHO), is to increase awareness globally about the dangers of tobacco use and to encourage governments to strictly regulate tobacco products.
As one of the first initiatives taken by the Saudi government to control its tobacco use the Kingdom signed the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in June 2004 becoming the 65th country to ratify the treaty.
The signing of the agreement means that the Kingdom had pledged to curb tobacco advertising, prevent exposure to secondhand smoke in public places and takes appropriate measures to prevent the smuggling of tobacco and cigarettes into the country.
According to the WHO, every eight seconds a person dies of a smoking-related diseases with deaths caused by cancer, heart conditions and lung disease set to double in the near future. The WHO added that tobacco use currently kills five million people per year with the death toll expected to rise to 10 million annually in about 20 years unless urgent action is taken.
“To successfully combat the deaths and disease caused by tobacco, physicians, and other health specialists need to reframe how they think about the range of tobacco-related products,” said Dr. Ahmed El Hakim, director of external affairs and policy for the Middle East Region for the drug company Pfizer, the Middle East sponsor of World No Tobacco Day 2007.
According to results of a survey conducted in March by the Saudi Ministry of Health, the Kingdom was found to consume as many as 40,000 tons of cigarettes per year, placing Saudi Arabia in 23rd place on the list of countries that have the highest tobacco-consumption rate.
Statistics from the same survey also showed that the number of women smokers, mostly teenagers, has also climbed to 600,000.
The Charitable Society to Enhance Public Awareness Against Smoking and Drugs estimates the annual number of smoking-related deaths in Saudi Arabia could be as high as 23,000 with approximately eight percent of young Saudi men and women starting to smoke by the primary school level, 20 percent during primary school, 30 percent during intermediate school, and 10 percent in the first year of the secondary level, according to the same survey.
The Ministry of Health recently filed an SR10 billion lawsuit against tobacco companies in an effort to receiving compensation for the burden of the treatment of smoking-related illnesses among Saudis. The Kingdom is also seeking an additional SR500 million annually to cover the ongoing health care cost for treating Saudis with smoking-related diseases. The first day of hearings in the case is scheduled for Sept. 11.
Arab News tired numerous times to speak to Dr. Abdullah Al-Badda, head of the Ministry of Health’s anti-smoking initiative, to find out what the ministry is planning for next week’s World No Tobacco Day, but the calls were unanswered.
In previous years several ideas have been proposed to fight smoking among Saudi youngsters, such as imposing an age limit of 21 for the purchase of tobacco products as well as the banning of youngsters from establishments that serve sheesha.
Sheesha (tobacco flavored with fruits or herbs that is smoked through a water pipe) is increasingly popular among young men and women, and even children, in Saudi Arabia.
