RIYADH, 23 December 2007 — A study of 1,050 students in Jeddah and Riyadh revealed that smoking, especially water pipes, is fairly widespread among students from rich families.
The survey covered college students aged between 18 and 26. A significantly high incidence of smoking was associated with high-income families.
The findings support another study conducted in Riyadh, which showed that 44 percent of male medical students interviewed in the capital smoked sheesha and 32.3 percent smoked cigarettes.
More than 90 percent of the students were aware of the link between smoking and heart diseases, yet only 75 percent were conscious of the fact that smoking is also responsible for strokes.
Asked to comment on the high prevalence of smoking among women, Abu Salman, an English teacher at a government school, told Arab News that there are several factors responsible for this phenomenon.
One of them, he said, is the tendency among men to go to the Istirahas (compounds on the outskirts of cities) and spend the whole night chatting, playing cards and smoking sheesha.
This leaves their women in the household alone to fend for themselves. “Under such circumstances, it is but natural for them to feel depressed,” he said. “They drive away their blues by smoking.”
He said that another important factor behind domestic tension is the breakdown of family values. “When a girl receives step-motherly treatment at home, it is natural for her to feel depressed. This is one of the reasons why women become chain smokers at a young age,” he said.
