A recent report by the World Bank on smoking
confirmed that Jordan has the highest rates of smoking in the Middle East and
North Africa region, raising questions from experts and citizens alike of the
impacts that this will have on the next generation.
اضافة اعلان
According to the report, 24 percent of
students aged 13-15 are current smokers in the Kingdom and more than 6 out of
10 men (41 percent of the total adult population) continue to smoke. This
contributes to almost one in every eight deaths in Jordan, and smoking costs
Jordan approximately $2.67 billion in healthcare expenses and lost
productivity.
In an attempt to curb this trend
Prime Minister Bisher Al-Khasawneh launched a number of new initiatives including the
ban on smoking of any tobacco products in public places as well as prohibiting
their advertisement and publication.
However, according to Dr. Mohammed Hassan
Al-Tarawneh, a specialist in respiratory and allergic diseases, implementing
these laws will be a much more difficult endeavor than creating them.
“Jordan has laws to combat smoking, but they
are not applied or activated in reality. There is a law prohibiting the
promotion of
tobacco products on media and social networks, a law prohibiting
smoking inside public facilities and transportation, and a law prohibiting the
sale of cigarettes to individuals under 18 years old,” Tarawneh told
Jordan
News.
“Visitors to Jordan, including tourists, notice the widespread prevalence of this phenomenon among all age groups. If a plan is not put in place to reduce the effects of smoking on society, we will pay a hefty price due to smoking.”
“There is no effective implementation of these
laws, as the behavior of individuals indicates. Government employees smoke
heavily, and there are doctors, patients, and attendants smoking even in
hospitals and health centers. Additionally, advertisements for shisha and
electronic cigarettes inundate social media and malls. The consequences of
cigarette butts fill parks, and cigarettes are sold to teenagers, with
virtually no supervision.”
Nevertheless, Khasawneh hopes that by
instructing ministries, institutions, and government departments to enforce the
smoking ban in public places things may go differently this time. He ordered
the relevant parties to identify designated areas within public spaces where
smoking is allowed and prohibited smoking in nurseries, kindergartens, and
schools all together; directing the Ministry of Health and relevant
authorities, and those responsible for public spaces to establish effective
controls to implement the instructions.
These changes to public smoking are crucial
according to Dr. Tarawneh, ”non-smokers and children should not suffer from
inhaling smoke, especially since treating diseases resulting from smoking is
very costly. These diseases are major causes of lung, digestive, and
respiratory cancers. Smoking also leads to chronic obstructive pulmonary
disease, bronchial asthma, and respiratory system problems, resulting in
extremely expensive treatments that burden the Jordanian healthcare economy.”
“This is to educate both the employee and subsequently the citizen. Such a decision should also extend to the ban on smoking shisha (hookah), as any tax revenue or investment gained by the government or investors from smoking, including shisha, only constitutes a small fraction of the overall costs borne by the Jordanian economy.”
Tarawneh urged the government to work on an
anti-smoking campaign, activate public health laws, and implement the framework
convention with the World Health Organization to protect against the tobacco
epidemic that is spreading in Jordanian society.
“Visitors to Jordan, including tourists,
notice the widespread prevalence of this phenomenon among all age groups. If a
plan is not put in place to reduce the effects of smoking on society, we will
pay a hefty price due to smoking.”
It seems for now many Jordanians are on board,
with many seeing the dangers and believing it is about time that something is
done.
“I highly commend the government's decision
and hope that it enforces this decision from the top down, meaning applying it
to the officials to set an example in the fairness of its resolution. The
officials should serve as a role model in receiving the government's guidance
and facing fines in case of violation,” economist Zayyan Zawaneh told
Jordan
news.
“This is to educate both the employee and
subsequently the citizen. Such a decision should also extend to the ban on
smoking shisha (hookah), as any tax revenue or investment gained by the
government or investors from smoking, including shisha, only constitutes a
small fraction of the overall costs borne by the Jordanian economy.”
Zawaneh said it was preferable that this
decision be accompanied by an increase in taxes on both smoking and shisha,
making it difficult for smokers, especially young people and students, to
continue this habit. He believed it was time for a comprehensive policy that
was not afraid to raise the price of intoxicating tobacco products.
Engineer Abdul Nasser Hammad, a member of the
administrative body of the National Jordanian Anti-Smoking Society, said in a
statement to
Jordan News that “the directives of his Majesty were explicit and
emphasized the necessity of enforcing the law and combating smoking in all its
forms.”
Hammad mentioned that they collaborated with
the Ministry of Health to conduct courses to appoint a judicial officer, and
also collaborated with the Ministry of Education to combat smoking and drugs,
especially focusing on youth as a group susceptible to addiction.
“We cooperate with governmental and
non-governmental entities to regulate and prevent smoking in public places. the
association's role in educating about the dangers of smoking in various forums
and their efforts to provide a liaison officer in schools to monitor this
process.”
“Our role extends to engaging with the local
community, providing support to individuals, directing them to smoking
cessation clinics, educating them, and following up, in collaboration with
relevant authorities, including the Ministry of Health.”
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