A suggestion from a senior Gulf official that smoking ban can be extended to outdoor areas to protect people from the harmful impacts of second-hand smoking, ought to be implemented in Qatar given the widespread prevalence of the health hazard.
In an interview with the Gulf Times recently, Jawad al-Lawati, senior consultant, Ministry of Health, Oman, proposed the idea, quoting Article 8 of WHO Framework Convention On Tobacco Control (FCTC), which states that second-hand smoking is a seriously dangerous problem for the non-smokers.
The parties of the FCTC have recognised that scientific evidence has unequivocally established that exposure to tobacco smoke causes death, disease and disability. All the countries who are party to this framework have to take steps to decrease the issue of second-hand smoking, pointed out al-Lawati.
As highlighted in this column a few weeks ago, second-hand smoke, sometimes referred to as environmental tobacco smoke, is a combination of the smoke exhaled by a smoker and the smoke that comes from the end of a burning cigarette or cigar. When someone breathes in this smoke, it is often referred to as passive smoking.
Scientific evidence tells us that non-smokers exposed to second-hand tobacco smoke increase their risk of lung cancer by 20-30%. Passive smoking can cause premature death in non-smokers. There is no known safe level of exposure to second-hand smoke.
Second-hand tobacco smoke contains more than 4,000 chemicals and 69 are known to cause cancer. Passive smoking substantially increases a person’s risk of getting coronary heart disease. Smoke that burns off the end of a cigarette (called sidestream smoke) may be more toxic than the mainstream smoke a smoker would inhale. Sidestream smoke may become more toxic as it goes from being fresh to aged.
Though the interiors of malls in Qatar remain tobacco smoke free, with the exception of certain individuals who openly flout the law by smoking at some coffee shops right under the ‘No Smoking’ signs, the situation near the entrances are pathetic. It is a common sight to see smokers stand a few feet away from the entrances of malls and puffing away, as if poking fun at the right of the non-smokers to clean air.
Al-Lawati stressed that several countries have limited the smoking ban in public places to indoor areas. But this can be extended to any outdoor areas such as parks, streets and other meeting points.
The official pointed out that governments should ensure that these places are smoke free and the people provided clean air to breathe without any harm to their health. More awareness programmes need to be conducted about the dangers of second-hand smoking as many people are not aware.
