Health experts suggest shisha ban

An international conference on healthy life style and noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) recommended a ban on shisha cafes in Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia.
The concluding session of the conference, chaired by Health Minister Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, was of the view that shisha was the worst form of intoxication and youngsters were using it more and more at cafes and restaurants.
Al-Rabeeah read out the Riyadh declaration containing 10 recommendations to combat NCDs on a regional level and called for a “ban all shisha cafes.”
He said all shisha cafes currently in residential areas, including those near schools or health facilities, should be moved out.
At the concluding session the declaration was adopted to combat these mostly lifestyle and diet-related illnesses. It stressed the need to increase taxes on a range of items with negative health effects, especially tobacco products.
Turkish Health Minister Recep Akdag said that this conference would go a long way in enriching countries' experiences in the field of NCDs and how to prevent them. He pointed out that the health sector in Turkey is experiencing a rapid development and change in accordance with the recent growth and development of Turkish economy in general.
“An agreement between the Kingdom and Turkey in the health sector is currently in place,” said Akdag, adding that Riyadh and Ankara would boost links in the health sector, especially in areas where Turkey has a rich experience to share.
Al-Rabeeah announced strategies to curb the prevalence of preventable illnesses. The health minister called for a multipronged campaign by governments, industry and civil society to set up by 2013 the plans needed to curb the risk factors behind the four groups of NCDs: cardiovascular diseases, cancers, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes.
He also affirmed the commitment to the pledges made in the UN General Assembly Political Declaration (UNGAPD) on NCD prevention and control.
The health minister said the Riyadh declaration contains recommendations and strategies to combat the diseases. Steps range from price and tax measures to reducing tobacco consumption to curbing the extensive marketing to children of foods and beverages that are high in saturated fats, trans-fatty acids, sugars, or salt.
Other measures seek to cut the harmful consumption of alcohol, promote overall healthy diets and increase physical activity.
The Riyadh declaration calls for an annual screening package for early components of the metabolic syndrome in all asymptomatic adults from the age of 25 years through primary health care facilities. “Individuals diagnosed through the screening package should be referred to adequate and accessible care,” said the declaration.
The declaration further said that schools must be recognized as a major venue for NCD prevention. The declaration called for improving urban planning policies to provide more space and playgrounds for physical activity. It also called for mandatory use of signs on all industrial food items besides pasting nutritional labels on all food items.
According to the declaration, vendors should be asked and encouraged to display and sell different types of fruits and vegetables.
The Riyadh declaration advocates the need for a gradual reduction of salt intake over the next five years to reach 50 percent reduction in initial content. This is in addition to the role and the responsibility of nongovernment stakeholders, in particular civil societies and private sector, which should take an active part in prevention and control programs, said Al-Rabeeah.
He suggested that the regional governments increase budgetary allocations for NCD programs. They should accelerate the implementation of the WHO framework convention on tobacco control and strengthen national health information systems to collect and provide all surveillance data required for planning and evaluating interventions on NCDs.
There is also a need to “encourage alliances and networks that bring together civil societies with academic and research institutions,” he added.