The Supreme Council of Health (SCH)’s Tobacco Inspection units last year raked in a total of QR376,500 in fines from tobacco law violators, the SCH Annual Report 2012 reveals.
The inspection units carried out 1,602 visits to places where smoking is strictly prohibited and recorded 927 violations.
The SCH report notes that while the prevalence of smoking among Qatar’s males is comparable to world statistics, the percentage of adolescent males smoking tobacco in Qatar is 40% above the world average.
A study has recently found that some 80% of pregnant Qatari women were severely exposed to second-hand-smoke in their households and outdoors.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), tobacco is the single greatest cause of preventable death globally as its use most commonly leads to diseases affecting the heart, liver, and lungs.
The WHO estimates that tobacco caused 5.4mn deaths in 2004 and 100mn deaths over the course of the 20th century.
Smoking is also a major risk factor for heart attacks, strokes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD – including emphysema and chronic bronchitis), and cancer, particularly lung cancer, cancers of the larynx and mouth, and pancreatic cancer.
However, in a bid to discourage the populace from smoking, the SCH has conducted a Global Adult Tobacco Survey, a Ramadan tobacco cessation media campaign as well as a community awareness lecture campaign that included outreach meetings and an education programme on the amended Tobacco law for shopping mall managers, hotel managers, and other key stakeholders.
Since the 2011 launch of the programme to establish smoking cessation clinics, the Al Gharafa and Al Rayyan primary healthcare centres have assisted a total of 578 patients with kicking the smoking habit, conducted campaigns such as World No Tobacco Day, and made plans to expand the service to two other health centres this year, the report mentions.
