The General Directorate of Health Affairs organized an anti-smoking program in Najran to increase awareness about the harmful effects of smoking.

Ahmed bin Hussein Al-Sayah, the event director, said the program was aimed at educating the community about the hazards of smoking through health lectures and fairs that showcase both short-term and long-term effects of smoking.

It will also educate people on how to treat, prevent and avoid the harmful effects of smoking, he said, adding that the program was taken up following the alarming number of outpatients across Najran clinics during the third quarter of 2013 due to airborne diseases and smoking.

The program comes in the wake of the growing population of smokers in Saudi Arabia, as well as worsening air pollution, both of which have resulted in an increase of infectious airborne diseases like coronavirus in the Kingdom.

The Saudi Diabetes and Endocrine Association (SDEA) in the Eastern Province earlier said that the number of smokers in Saudi Arabia will increase from 5 million to 10 million in 2020 if the government doesn’t take measures to remedy the situation. They also said that the increase in the number of smokers was due to lack of awareness programs on the ill-effects of smoking.

The SDEA also appealed to the Saudi government to conduct more awareness programs about the hazards of smoking.