Cigarette packs start alerting people against smoking
Tue, 06 November 2012
By Kabeer Yousuf -
MUSCAT — Cigarette packs currently in supply in Oman have begun to carry the message of potential dangers of smoking along with a compelling image aiming to dissuade the smokers to kick the habit.
This follows a recent Omani Health Ministry guideline to all cigarette manufacturers and distributors to keep such messages as part of anti-smoking campaign.
Accordingly, the newest packets being supplied in the country containing this cancer sticks read, along with an ill-fated man’s burnt fingers: “Smoking increases the risk of more than 25 diseases including cancer and cardio-vascular diseases”. Hitherto, these packs used to carry the age-old but still relevant message “Smoking is injurious to health” internationally.
Studies have proved that Oman is one of the countries where a large number of people smoke. In a study conducted by the Research and Studies Directorate at the Ministry of Health, as many as 12 per cent of Omani men are daily smokers which shows a surprisingly increasing trend in smoking habits when compared with the 2004 statistics which showed 7 per cent of the people in Oman smoked.
In the light of these studies, the Sultanate has already banned cigarette advertisements on radio and television along with billboards and hoardings. Since then, there has been a pressure from parents from various walks to stop people lighting up in shopping malls, cinemas and restaurants. Subsequently, with effect from April 2, 2010, the Muscat Municipality’s has banned smoking in all public places in the country aiming to keep all enclosed and semi-enclosed public places such as workplaces, hotels, shopping malls, hospitals, educational institutions, and restaurants free from tobacco smell. Any smoker caught flouting the ban has been fined up to RO 100 for the first and second time and RO 300 from the third time.
According to medical bulletins, smoking is the major cause for an estimated 90 per cent of all lung cancer deaths in men and 80 per cent of all lung cancer deaths in women. An estimated 90 per cent of all deaths from chronic obstructive lung disease are caused by smoking.
Regionally, the number of smokers is rapidly increasing and experts say by 2030 it is predicted that more than 80 per cent of tobacco deaths will be in developing countries including the Middle East.
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