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Yemen’s tobacco company denies corruption accusation  

• One million young smokers in Yemen 

Yemeni teenagers are among at least a million of the country's 3.4 million cigarette smokers under 24, revealed statistics from a field survey published by the country's Central Organization for Control and Accounting.

The survey also confirmed that the ratio of the number of smokers in Yemen in relation to its population size is one of the highest in the world. Yemen has 3.4 million smokers and 29.2% of these are persons aged 17-24, according to the survey.

Yemenis annually smoke 6.4 billion cigarettes which equals 317.5 million packs of cigarettes. This means that they smoke 870,000 packs of cigarettes daily at an average cost of YR150 per box. Yemenis spend YR130.5-million on cigarettes per day.

Of particular interest are the reasons that Yemenis teenagers smoke. These include smoking during Qat sessions and curiosity. They also imitate adults, their parents or celebrities and this habit soon turns to addiction. Teenage boys also consider smoking to be a sign of maturity and manhood.

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YEMEN: Chewing your way to an early death 

The widespread daily ritual of chewing the amphetamine-rich leaf ‘qat’ is to blame for the growing number of mouth cancers in Yemen, according to local NGO National Foundation to Support Cancer Patients.

The Foundation said the heavy use of pesticides by farmers to grow the crop, cultivated in Yemen for over 500 years, was to blame for the proliferation of cancer cases.

According to Nadeem Mohammed Saeed, head of the state-funded National Oncology Centre (NOC) in the capital Sanaa, about 30 percent of the cancer patients he sees have mouth and gum cancers - which some studies link to `qat’ as well as the heavy use of a chewing tobacco known as ‘shamma’.

“This is really a frightening figure and represents one of the world’s highest rates for mouth and gum cancer,” Saeed said.

Millions chew `qat’ in Yemen, mostly men. At the end of the workday, usually from about 3pm, tight little bundles of the mildly narcotic leaf are bought fresh, and relaxing sessions of talking and chewing begin, which can last hours. . . .

The 56-bed NOC, the only specialist oncology hospital in Yemen, is unable to cope with the growing number of people diagnosed with cancer.

"We don't have enough beds to accommodate hundreds of cancer patients coming from all across the nation,” said Jamal al-Azab, a doctor at the centre. NOC has a waiting list of 300 patients, and "too many patients stop frequenting the centre after they fail to find unoccupied beds," he added.

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• Smoking increasingly popular among Yemeni girls 

Although smoking can damage a woman’s reputation, having a cigarette and sharing a shisha with friends has become fashionable pastimes among Yemeni girls. In fact, women in Yemen smoke more than ever before, both in public and private.

Emad Mohammed, who owns The Smokers World Store for Shisha, confirmed this trend. He told the Yemen Times that more than 20 girls a day visit his shop and buy cigarettes, tobacco and other items related to smoking. Most of Mohammed’s female customers are over 20 years old.

Restaurants that serve shisha also benefit from the growing fashion. Despite the fact that such establishments do not have the best name and conservative families do not allow their women to go there, it is not uncommon today to see a group of ladies in such a restaurant having a smoke together.

Yemen Times visited one of the establishments that is known for serving shisha to women as well as men. Unfortunately, the owner of this Egyptian restaurant was afraid to lose his good reputation and denied this. . . .

Maha Ahmed is a high school student who smokes shisha and cigarettes almost every day. She has her own equipment but keeps it at her friend’s place so that her parents would never suspect she smokes. She visits her friend almost every day and they have a shisha together.

“I smoke because I like to figure out what people like about smoking,” Maha explained.

According to university student Shahed Hussein, smoking has become an important way of socializing among young women. . ..

The secret popularity of smoking among young women has not improved the reputation of female smokers in Yemeni society. Mohammed Bahajry works as a pharmacist and would never marry a smoker.

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• Government's anti-tobacco efforts go up in smoke 

Experts estimate that smoking in Egypt costs around 8 million pounds annually as around 85 billion cigarettes are smoked per year. Salah is one of nearly 13 million Egyptian smokers, who have been the target of a high-profile anti-smoking campaign launched over recent years.

More than two years ago, the health authorities made it obligatory for tobacco manufacturers to print an image of a sickly man living on an artificial ventilation machine, on packets of cigarettes.

But soon, the warning image became a funny public issue as the man in the picture sued the authorities for "tampering" with his features without his consent.

Last month, another controversy erupted when a new illustration was printed on tobacco products linking smoking to male impotency. . . .

The increase in the numbers of smokers is not limited to Egypt, however.

According to a recent study in Yemen, people there smoke around 6.4 billion cigarettes per year, i.e. 317.5 million packets. "The magnitude of tobacco use can be perceived when we imagine that if cigarettes used annually are arranged in one line, they would stretch for around 508,000 kilometres," said Ahmad Hussain Al Hada, an ex-executive of the Youngsters Welfare Fund, who conducted the study.

The numbers of smokers in Yemen are among the highest in the world

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War deprives Yemeni elite of drug of choice  

Yemenis gather at a shop selling qat, a mild drug used daily by most Yemenis, at a market in Sana'a. Photo: AFP

For Yemenis, the mild narcotic qat is as much a part of life as an after-dinner drink in the West and, as with brandies, connoisseurs want the best varieties. But the trees that produce the most sought-after leaves are in a war zone.

Mohammed Ahmed Ghanem runs a stall selling qat in the Yemeni capital's upscale Kuwait market. Prices for an afternoon's worth of the stimulant leaves can run anywhere between $2 (£1.20) and $100 depending on quality.

But the very best, known as shami, is no longer available, Ghanem acknowledges ruefully.

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Yemen ranks second in the number of smokers in Arab World 

Yemen ranks the second in the Arab World in the number of smokers after Tunisia according to a study conducted by World Health Organization (WHO) issued in May 2009. In Yemen also the number of students has increased and that 1.14 % from students of primary education in Yemen aged 13-15 smokes and 40 % are subject to passive smoking stated a Field survey conducted by Anti-Smoking program.

Yemenis smoke 604 billion cigarettes per year, said a new official research issued last year on the occasion of the World No Tobacco Day. According to the study conducted by the National Program for Combating Smoking, Yemenis smoke 604 billion cigarettes with a total cost of YR 21.5 billion.

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• Prices skyrocket before taxes imposed on tobacco 

Cigarettes prices increased by YR 40 per pack, following the conclusion of the Regional Conference for Combating Cancer, last Tuesday.

Many companies and businessmen have donated to programs aimed at combating cancer. Among the donors was the Haeel Saeed group, which donated YR 50 million. Ali Mahdi Saleh, a smoker who smokes one of the brands produced by the Haeel Saeed group, said this was a small gesture, as the YR 50 million donated by the group could be recouped from consumers as a result of the new price in one day alone.

Radman al-Qubati, a smoker of the same brand said he would continue smoking cigarettes in spite of the higher price.

Meanwhile, President Saleh attended the closing ceremony of the conference, and instructed the responsible authorities to purchase new equipment which will aid the detection of cancer in its early stages, and for this equipment to be provided to all cancer clinics.

He instructed the passing of new laws imposing special taxes on cigarettes and mobile bills, with the proceeds going to cancer treatment programs.

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Yemen: President calls for anti-smoking law implementation 

President Ali Abdullah Saleh issued directives to strictly implement the anti- smoking law which prohibits smoking in all indoor public places including public transport.

The law, which was issued in 2005, has already been enforced in the Ministry of Public Health and Population, Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation and Ministry of Foreign Affairs in addition to the Yemeni Airline CompanyYemeni Airline Company and Social Fund for Development.

In his meeting with the participants of the Fourth Gulf Conference on Fighting Cancer, which took place from February 16-18, Saleh emphasized a previous decision to increase fees on cigarettes. He also warned against dangers of smoking on health.

Dr. Abdul-Hakim Al-Kuhlani, the supervisor of the National Anti- Smoking Program in the Ministry of Public Health and Population said the president directed strict measures towards the enforcement of Law No.26 from the year 2005 on combating smoking.

"The Ministry of Health issued no-smoking directives to all medical facilities.

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YT Person of the Year 2008, lawyer and human rights advocate Shada Nasser: “I wish for Yemenis to take more care of their children because they are the wealth of our country”  

Born in an educated family, Nasser was bound to have a bright career, yet her family and friends say she has truly exceeded expectations. Her father was a journalist and a diplomat and her mother was a school principle. . . .

In 1997, Nasser was the first Yemeni lawyer to sue international cigarettes companies through their agents in Yemen for encouraging people to smoke. Marlboro and Montana cigarette companies had launched an advertising campaign promoting a smoking competition by which the person who collects the largest number of empty cigarette packs gets a prize. She won the case and the competitions ended. . . .

She hopes that one day she will have the time and the resources to create a civil society organization and to dedicate more time to advocating for policy change. Through her work, she wants to help give Yemen a better future where there is democracy and safety. Where the environment is protected and the children are happy.

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• Chemicals and tobacco are increasing cancers in Yemen  

In Yemen, chemicals or pesticides used in farming and tobaccos are the main factors in increasing cancer cases, doctors say.

They warn that using tobacco, whether it is smoked or smokeless tobacco such as shamma, which is placed under the tongue or between the lips and gums, coupled with the unregulated use of chemicals in irrigation are factors in the spread of various cancers and other diseases among Yemenis.

Officials and specialists maintain that such chemicals enter the country both legally and illegally, but that the Yemeni government has failed to control them to the degree that they have become used on all farms.

Dr. Mohammed Kedesi, radiation oncologist at the National Oncology Center in Sana’a, said, “We’ve recently noticed a horrible phenomenon of increased instances of cancer among Yemenis, although the disease isn’t new in this country. . . .

“Most Yemenis afflicted with cancer are from Hodeidah governorate because of the bad habit of shamma usage.” . . .

Kedesi confirmed that the oncology center receives 25 new cancer cases every day. Most cancers among men, such as mouth, neck and tongue cancers, could result from their addiction to tobacco and chewing or eating plants sprayed with chemicals.

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• Calls to Ban Smoking in Public Areas Increase; Locals Demand Right to Fresh Air 

According to a study recently released in Yemen, there are over 3.4 million smokers, of whom nearly 86 percent are adult males, while 29 percent of them are of the age group 17-24.

The Study pointed out that Yemen has the highest rate in the world, and nearly a decade earlier Yemen spent about YR 21.3 billion in tobacco. That number is likely to be much higher today.

Tobacco smoking is a major risk factor for tooth loss according to the study, which was designed to examine tooth durability and the patterns of tooth loss in smokers and nonsmokers in a selected age groups of Sana'a residents.

Radhwan, an 11-year-old, smokes cigars while washing cars in the capital. When the Yemen Post asked him why he chose to do so at a young age, he pointed out angrily," everyone can do whatever he likes and no one can be responsible for others. . . . I know what I am supposed to do, and smoking does not harm me but it rather helps me."

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[E]veryone can do whatever he likes and no one can be responsible for others. . . . I know what I am supposed to do, and smoking does not harm me but it rather helps me."
Radhwan, an 11-year-old who smokes cigars while washing cars in Sana'a, Yemen.

Youth informs public with anti-smoking campaign 

Stop smoking for the sake of your children who are the most precious people in your life.

Fras Shamsan, a young man effected by the bad situations in Yemen, has been inspired to do something helpful. Shamsan who has never smoked a single cigarette, recently launched a campaign against smoking called “Life is better without smoking.” Shamsan felt that combating smoking is no longer an option. “I see many young people smoking and ruining their lives,” he said.

Lack of awareness is the main reason for people to practice these behaviors. Many young men quit smoking after Shamsan held workshops regarding the dangers of smoking.

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• Yemeni children’s future goes up in (tobacco) smoke 

The WHO conducted a 3,000-person survey in Yemen with male and female students between the ages of 13 and 15. The study found that nearly 19 percent of the children surveyed were already smokers at this age. This means that around 570 out of 3,000 students in middle school are smoking.

Nasser is 12-year-old boy who smokes while helping people carry their bags outside a supermarket.

When asked why he smokes, Nasser was indignant. “I’m a man now and I can do whatever I want to do,” he said. Nasser said he started smoking after his father died when he started working in order to support his family.

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Sulfur and Tobacco Company delivers support to Kamaran Island 

In the coming days, the National Sulfur and Tobacco Company will give the people of Kamaran Island transportation buses for school children, in addition to electricity dynamos and machinery for stone-cutting, as well as contributing to other development projects, sources told the Yemen Observer.

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