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16th World Conference on Tobacco or Health 

‘Tobacco or Health’ question to be highlighted at capital global meet in ‘15 

• Abu Dhabi to host 16th World Conference on Tobacco or Health 

The UAE capital has been selected to host, in 2015, the 16th World Conference on Tobacco or Health (WCTOH) - a triennial gathering of international advocacy, public policy and health research experts working together to achieve the goals of the world's first public health treaty, the World Health Organisation's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO-FCTC).

Abu Dhabi selection comes after the unanimous decision of the International Liaison Group on Tobacco or Health (ILGTH), fending off rival bids from seven other countries.

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Smokers fuel prediction of steep rise in lung disease 

DUBAI // The prevalence of a progressive and irreversible lung disease is increasing rapidly.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) affects 4 per cent of the Abu Dhabi population, according to a study by UAE University, Zayed Military Hospital and the Emirates Allergy and Respiratory Society (Ears).

Worldwide, the disease, caused mainly by smoking and characterised by severely restricted breathing as a result of lung damage and inflammation, affects between 2 and 9 per cent of the population, placing Abu Dhabi slightly below the average.

However, with smokers making up nearly a quarter of the adult population in the emirate, experts project that the prevalence of COPD could increase to 7 per cent in the next five years.

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• Rapidly spreading COPD threatens to snuff out smokers’ lives 

DUBAI: While there are ways, experts aver, to control the spread of most chronic diseases, the incidence of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is threatening to rapidly increase in the UAE, with four per cent of the Abu Dhabi population already afflicted by the disease, a recent study reveals.

The research has been carried out by Dr Ashraf H Alzaabi, Chair and Clinical Assistant Professor at the UAE University, and Head of Respiratory Division at Zayed Military Hospital.

Another study on COPD is being conducted by Emirates Allergy and Respiratory Society (EARS) to cover the whole of the GCC region, details of which are soon expected to be out.

Dr Mirza Ali Al Sayegh, president of EARS, said that COPD is an under-diagnosed, life-threatening lung disease.

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KHALAF: After Amman, Abu Dhabi is a non-smoker's paradise  

I turn into a crabby old lady whenever I attempt to go out in Jordan.

This past week, Mr T and I were in Amman visiting my family and celebrating Eid. In between copious amounts of cardamom-infused coffee and pistachio-based Arabic sweets, all consumed in an opulent salon-setting surrounded by a steady stream of well-wishing visitors, the two of us managed to escape one evening to meet up with friends.

I say "one evening" because it was exactly that: a single evening that was really only 30 minutes before I grumbled my way back home. You see, nowhere in Jordan is smoke free, and no one in Jordan is sans cigarette.

This may sound as a gross exaggeration, but I stick by my conviction: compared with Abu Dhabi, Amman is a pungent ashtray.

I have become so spoilt living in the UAE. . . .

My poor husband is beginning to realise that visiting Amman is never going to be an opportunity for us to sample restaurants and visit cafes and explore everything the city has to offer. We'll just have to do that in Abu Dhabi instead.

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• Many shisha cafes flouting age limit for smokers 

Although smoking shisha -- also known as 'hubble bubble', 'hookah' or 'water pipe' -- is illegal for those under 18, the fact remains that the law is flouted with abandon. Health experts and educators are now calling on authorities to strictly enforce no-smoking rules and ban youngsters from smoking shisha openly in cafes and restaurants.

Gulf News toured several shisha and internet cafes in Abu Dhabi to get a clearer picture about the social implications of the shisha craze. All names of young people interviewed herein have been changed for confidentiality.

"I was first with my dad and his wife who smokes shisha frequently. She let me try it in my dad's presence so that I know how it tastes. She was hoping that this gesture will protect me from the curiosity to explore unsupervised. My friends kept on pressuring me to go out and have shisha with them. I did several times, and still do," said Hisham, a 13-year-old Egyptian.

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Abu Dhabi Says No To Smoking  

The Health Authority - Abu Dhabi (HAAD), the regulatory body of health care sector in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, announced today a comprehensive plan to combat tobacco use in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. The program slogan is "Abu Dhabi Says No to Smoking".

The program aims to prevent youth (males and females) from using all tobacco forms (Shisha, Medwakh, Cigarettes and all other forms), help smokers to quit smoking through creating a smoke free environment as per the Federal Law on Tobacco Control number 15/ 2009.

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Abu Dhabi Says No To Smoking 

(HAAD)The Health Authority - Abu Dhabi (HAAD), the regulatory body of health care sector in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, announced today a comprehensive plan to combat tobacco use in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. The program slogan is "Abu Dhabi Says No to Smoking".

The program aims to prevent youth (males and females) from using all tobacco forms (Shisha, Medwakh, Cigarettes and all other forms), help smokers to quit smoking through creating a smoke free environment as per the Federal Law on Tobacco Control number 15/ 2009.

To meet the objectives of the program, a Task Force consisting of General Authority of Islamic Affairs and Endowments, Abu Dhabi Media, Abu Dhabi Educational Council, Abu Dhabi Sports Council, Abu Dhabi City Municipality, Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority, Department of Economic Development, Takatuf Voluntary Social program, community Police, and the Environment Agency was formed. . . .

"Abu Dhabi says No Smoking" is the fruit of mutual cooperation between Health Authority-Abu Dhabi and "In House Hospital" website www.inhousehospital.com.

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Abu Dhabi launches "Abu Dhabi Says No To Smoking" 

The Health Authority - Abu Dhabi (HAAD) announced today a comprehensive plan to combat tobacco use in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi under the slogan "Abu Dhabi Says No to Smoking".

The program aims to prevent youth from using all tobacco forms (Shisha, Medwakh, Cigarettes and all other forms), help smokers to quit smoking through creating a smoke free environment as per the Federal Law on Tobacco Control number 15/ 2009.

To meet the objectives of the program, a Task Force consisting of General Authority of Islamic Affairs and Endowments, Abu Dhabi Media, Abu Dhabi Educational Council, Abu Dhabi Sports Council, Abu Dhabi City Municipality, Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority, Department of Economic Development, Takatuf Voluntary Social program, community Police, and the Environment Agency was formed.

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Capital to enforce federal law on tobacco control 

Abu Dhabi authorities will enforce the federal law on tobacco control as part of the comprehensive plan to combat tobacco use across the emirate.

"We are executing the law in Abu Dhabi now," stated Dr Mohammed Bader Al Seiari, Director of Health System Compliance Division at the Health Authority-Abu Dhabi (HAAD).

The law on tobacco control was passed two years ago but this is yet to be implemented in the country.

"There are aspects that need to be made clear by our bylaws, (however) there are items that are clear and we can enforce right away such as the selling of cigarette to those below 18 years old. This will be enforced. We will be prosecuting the violators," explained Mohammed Jalal Al Reyaysa, Director of Communications and Community Service at the Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority (ADFCA).

An executive decree that defines and clarifies the tobacco control law is expected to be issued by the Abu Dhabi Executive Council in the coming months. The decree will serve as a guideline for the authorities in the full implementation of the law.

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Cafes told to stop selling tobacco by Dec 

Cafes and restaurants in residential buildings and areas that are serving shisha and other type of tobacco products will have time until December to relocate or stop this service, or can face penalty.

Article 11 of the Federal Law on Tobacco Control No. 15, 2009 prohibits the licensing of "cafes or similar places which provides any types of tobacco or its products within residential buildings or area. Cafes or similar places shall settle their status within two years as of the date of this law by changing the activity or moving to another place."

"By December 21, 2011, the law will be two years old, the grace period given to these entities will be over," said Mohammed Jalal Al Reyaysa, Director of Communications and Community Service at the Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority (ADFCA).

Salim Adib, manager of Public Health and Research at HAAD, noted that the Municipality of Abu Dhabi City has already stopped issuing licences to cafes.

"But what should be done now is to get the cafes out of residential areas.

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• Abu Dhabi health authority moots smoking buffer zones 

There should be a clear distance of not less than 150 metres between residential areas and cafes that sell cigarettes or permit shisha and midwakh smoking in their premises.

"The proposal has been sent to the Abu Dhabi Executive Council by the Tobacco Control Task Force (TCTF) as per Federal Law on Tobacco Control number 15/2009 which expires on December 21st 2011. It is up to the executive council when the smoke-free regulations will be enforced," Dr Saleem Adib, public health and research department manager at the Health Authority Abu Dhabi (HAAD) told Gulf News.

The TCTF is working together to enforce and implement smoke-free regulations across the emirate, through controlling and monitoring tobacco use, protecting people from tobacco smoke, helping smokers quit, issuing warnings on tobacco risks, and implementing a ban on tobacco advertisements.

The initiative, titled -- 'Abu Dhabi says no to smoking' -- involves, besides HAAD, the Islamic Affairs Authority, AD Media, AD Educational Council, AD Sports Council, AD City Municipality, AD Food Control Authority (ADFCA), Department of Economic Development, Takatof Voluntary Social Programme, Community Police, and the Environment Agency.

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• I know it’s bad but love it anyway, say teenagers 

practice. "Because of its social aspects, hookah or shisha will continue to gain loyal smokers because it is also traditional."

Yet Dr Eric J. Dierks, clinical professor of oral and maxillofacial surgery at Oregon Health and Science University, USA, pointed out, "there is a myth that smoking through a shisha pipe is safer than smoking cigarettes but this is almost certainly not the case. Several recent studies have indicated that shisha smokers actually inhale more of the cooled smoke than would a cigarette smoker, thereby increasing their exposure to carcinogens within the smoke." . . .

Speaking to residents in the capital, it is evident that shisha smoking has increasingly become a part of the lives of teenagers. Abdul Kader noted that in the past few years, it has also become increasingly popular with Europeans and tourists and among this group grape flavour is highly preferred. "And among the Arabic clients, 'mint' is the popular choice,' he added.

In Abu Dhabi other flavours that are popular include apple, mint, strawberry, rose, cherry, sweet melon and super cool grape.

One Arab teenager, Rahman 18, said "I know it's bad, but I just love to hang out with friends and smoke my favourite mint flavour. I prefer smoking shisha because of it's different flavours, the way it tastes and (the fact that it) smells better than cigarettes."

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35 tonnes of tobacco seized in Abu Dhabi 

At least 35 tonnes of tobacco has been seized from an unlicensed shop in Abu Dhabi, a top official said Thursday.

Abu Dhabi municipality officials made the seizure at a tyre shop. A total of 700 sacks, each weighing 50 kg, were seized in addition to 20 barrels of raw tobacco.

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