“Ramadan is the ideal month to quit smoking,” said Jamal Abdullah Basahi of the Tobacco Control Department at the Ministry of Health.
Basahi told Arab news on Friday the campaign will take place through the media and that brochures will be distributed in mosques. He also said the ministry would focus on Jeddah for a campaign against sheesha.
Ramadan creates a conducive environment for smokers to quit because Muslims, adhering to the rules of the fasting month, must abstain from eating, drinking and smoking during daylight hours anyway, making it easier to continue “cold turkey” on the tobacco at night. “The hand that touches the Holy Qur’an during the month would definitely refuse to touch tobacco,” said Basahi.
The official said those interested to give up smoking can avail themselves of the facilities and expertise available at the 55 anti-smoking clinics throughout the Kingdom. The clinics will remain open daily from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m during the month of Ramadan. There are six such clinics in Riyadh, including one exclusively for women.
Seven million people in Saudi Arabia smoke, including about nearly 1.1 million women, according to the Makkah-based Khair anti-smoking group. The study also says people in Saudi Arabia consume 40,000 tons of tobacco worth SR12 billion annually. It said students account for about one in four smokers.
The World Health Organization estimates that up to a billion people will die worldwide this century from smoking. A person dies from the ill effects of smoking once every 15 minutes, according to the WHO.
