JEDDAH, 22 May 2008 -- Prince Mishaal ibn Majed, governor of Jeddah, will inaugurate on June 1 the third national anti-smoking campaign in Makkah Province, under the banner, "The hope of the nation lies in its youth."
The campaign, which is organized by the Anti-Smoking and Drugs Association for Makkah Province, will include many side events, according to Abdullah Al-Othaim, chairman of the association.
On behalf of Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, Prince Mishaal is scheduled to inaugurate the association's new headquarters in Al-Faiha area of the holy city. He will also open the association's permanent exhibition inside the new building.
The anti-smoking campaign is supported by the World Health Organization (WHO), represented by its regional director Dr. Hussain Al-Jazairi, in addition to many other concerned international organizations and associations, Al-Othaim said.
Thousands of awareness publications will be given away to schools and government offices as part of the campaign, he said, adding that the women's section of the association will participate with lectures in an effort to stop the growing number of smoking women in the country.
In an article published in Tobacco.org website, Dr. Abdullah Al-Baddah, director of the Tobacco Control Department at the Ministry of Health, said that Saudi Arabia ranks 23 worldwide in terms of smokers per capita.
Each year Saudis smoke 40,000 tons of tobacco, he said, adding that approximately 600,000 Saudi women smoke.
The same website reported that over six million people in the Kingdom spend around SR5 billion annually, smoking around 15 billion cigarettes.
A single Saudi on average smokes 2,130 cigarettes in a year. Nearly 23,000 people die in the Kingdom each year as a result of smoking-related diseases.
By Hasan Hatrash
© Arab News 2008
