Dubai: The number of children curious about smoking is increasing in the UAE, said a worried health official, but noted new anti-tobacco laws will help the younger generation.
The Federal Anti-Tobacco Law will go into effect on January 21 and will hit hard specially smokers in vehicles. “The fines start at Dh500 for an adult found smoking in a car with a child,” said Dr. Wedad Al Maidour, head of National Tobacco Control at the Ministry of Health.
She said the laws will protect people and hopefully make the next generation lose interest in smoking. Already, shops near schools are not allowed to sell cigarettes.
According to a study in Abu Dhabi, about 28 per cent of teens younger than 15 years are smoking. The Dubai Health Authority (DHA) earlier said that 13 per cent of smokers in Dubai start the habit in secondary school.
Smoking is the second major cause of death in the UAE where an estimated 19 per cent of the population smokes, according to the World Health Organisation. Smoking is leading cause of lung cancer in the country. The UAE spends more than Dh200 million every year in direct medical costs associated with smoking.
Emirati women who say they only smoke shisha on social occasions are also warned that dragging on a single hubble bubble is the equivalent of smoking 30 cigarettes.
Doctors say the number of deaths from lung cancer is under reported and that health insurance does not cover the efforts of these who wish to quit smoking.
