Arab News: Call for awareness pictures on cigarette...
JEDDAH: The Anti-Smoking and Narcotics Association in the Makkah province will call on the government to impel cigarette manufacturers to include on cigarette packets images portraying the consequences of smoking linked diseases.
“We will send an official letter to both the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Commerce to speed up the process of including awareness pictures on cigarette packs,” said Abdullah Seruji, executive director of the association.
Seruji said that inside the next year, cigarette packets distributed in the Kingdom would incorporate awareness images, an act that, he said, is bound to come about sooner or later, as it is part of the international anti-tobacco accord that the Kingdom is a signatory of.
“By this call, we want to urge the authorities to take quicker steps in initiating the move,” he said.
He also said that that numerous countries, including adjacent Arab states, have made it mandatory for cigarette packets to have such images, something that’s facilitated a reduction in the number of individuals who smoke. He noted that a lot of people give up smoking and then commence the habit once again, because they’re not fully cognisant of the risks.
“These pictures would be permanent reminders that would have a profound effect on a smoker each time he buys a pack of cigarettes,” he said.
Seruji said that the international accord likewise expressed that admonitions ought to cover at the least fifty percent of cigarette packets, and that governments ought to step-up taxation on tobacco products, collaborate in battling black-market tobacco smuggling and facilitate research programmes regarding efforts to cease tobacco use..
The Anti-Smoking and Narcotics Association lately ushered in the 3rd national Anti-Smoking Campaign, which incorporated several events and public lectures regarding the risks of smoking.
Seruji said there are over six million people who smoker in the Kingdom, which is the world’s 23rd greatest tobacco consumer.
He said that consciousness is developing amongst the populate, particularly young people. “We receive many people, who come willingly to receive support to quit smoking,” he said.
The association furnishes counselling and a 6-day treatment program with few withdrawal symptoms for individuals who want to stop smoking. “The association has helped many locals and residents in quitting this deadly habit,” he added.
Image by Getty Images via Daylife
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July 7th, 2008 at 3:40 pm
[...] unknown wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptThe association furnishes counselling and a 6-day treatment program with few withdrawal symptoms for individuals who want to stop smoking. “The association has helped many locals and residents in quitting this deadly habit,” he added. … [...]