A joint study between Hamad Medical Corporation’s (HMC) Tobacco Control Center and the University of Glasgow in Scotland is examining the impact of anti-smoking advertising campaigns in Qatar and the UK on teenagers in both countries. 

The purpose of the study, focused on graphic health warnings displayed on tobacco products, is to determine which messages are effective in discouraging adolescents from taking up smoking. The researchers hope the study will improve anti-smoking advertising targeted at teenagers in both countries and the Middle East.
The research team, led by Dr Thomas Anker, a senior lecturer in marketing at the University of Glasgow, will spend the next month conducting follow-up interviews with school students. The full study will be released once all data has been collected and analysed. 
Dr Anker, who was in Doha last month to meet with staff at HMC’s Tobacco Control Center, said finding ways to discourage adolescents from taking up smoking is important because those who begin smoking at an early age are more likely to become addicted and have greater difficulty quitting. 
Dr Ahmad al-Mulla, adviser to the Minister of Public Health and head of the HMC Tobacco Control Center, said the research study with the University of Glasgow is the first of what he hopes will be many collaborations between the two institutions.