The Madinah municipality issued an order recently imposing a ban on the sale of cigarettes in the holy city. I did not comprehend the wisdom in issuing such an order even after all these years of “implementing” the same decision.
If the purpose of the decision is to combat smoking, the reality is that such measures have not at all contributed to bringing down the percentage of smokers. People explore the avenues to obtain what they wish for. Hence, they have taken advantage of the government decision to profit from it. The decision to ban the sale of cigarettes had not helped anything except the black-market sale of cigarettes in the holy city.
The ban has brought about a new reality: The emergence of a new group of black marketeers from the foreign workforce, such as street-cleaners. These black marketeers charge up to SR20, or three times the market rate, for a pack of cigarettes in the central area of the city that is teeming with pilgrims.
Even after several years of issuing the first order to ban the sale of cigarettes, the municipality has had not come forward to discuss the feasibility of taking such a decision. What is the reason for keeping quiet about the negative outcome of this decision? It's the disease of avoiding self-criticism that affects most government departments. Or is the real reason behind the decision (and then not doing any followup) the municipality’s keenness in achieving a propaganda goal?
I would like only to ask these officials another question: Have you even seen the flourishing black market for cigarettes that is directly tied to a decision you have taken? Officials in the municipality should provide answers to these questions?
