Qatar shares its tobacco control experience at Riyadh conference

Qatar has presented its pioneering experience in tobacco control at a forum in Riyadh. The head of Hamad Medical Corporation's (HMC) Tobacco Control Centre, Dr Ahmad al-Mulla, represented Qatar at the 7th National Forum for Tobacco Control in Riyadh at the invitation of the Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Health.
Presenting Qatar's pioneering experience in tobacco control, Dr al-Mulla said that Qatar is among the first countries to introduce tobacco cessation services in the region, highlighting that HMC's Tobacco Control Centre has been designated as a World Health Organisation Collaborating Centre for treating tobacco dependence.
In addition, Dr al-Mulla presented the centre's journey and the milestones of the centre and Qatar in terms of enacting tobacco control legislations. He also explained the Tobacco Control Centre's role in raising public awareness about the harm of smoking and presented some of the research projects carried out by it, as well as the aspects of its co-operation with the WHO to promote knowledge-sharing in tobacco control.
Dr al-Mulla stressed that Qatar will continue to support effective co-operation among GCC countries to step up tobacco control efforts. The conference brought together an elite of regional and international experts from WHO and regional and global organisations and anti-tobacco community advocates. It included several presentations from representatives of tobacco control sectors in Saudi Arabia and the region.
The attendees stressed the importance of permanent and effective co-operation in this field, as this forum supports the standardisation of efforts to combat tobacco in the Gulf countries.