RIYADH: A senior official from the Ministry of Health (MoH) urged smokers to take advantage of the Holy Month of Ramadan to quit smoking.
“The Holy Month of Ramadan is the best month for Muslims to quit smoking,” said Dr. Jamal Abdullah Al-Bazie, a specialist attached to the anti-smoking unit of Ministry of Health here.
Al-Bazie was speaking on the Hello Ramadan program conducted by the MoH during this week.
The Hello Ramadan phone-in program was launched during the first week of the holy month to assist Muslims across the Kingdom in resolving any medical problems they might encounter during Ramadan.
The program is focused on ensuring Muslims maintain a healthy and balanced lifestyle and stresses the importance of taking prescribed doses of medication in a timely manner during the holy month.
The service is available on toll free number 800 249 4444. It is conducted in Arabic and is open to the public from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on weekdays.
A panel of specialist doctors in various fields take questions throughout the month. The physicians would also interact with the public through social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook.
The official said those interested in giving up smoking can avail themselves of the facilities and expertise available at more than 60 anti-smoking clinics spread throughout the Kingdom. The clinics will remain open daily from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. during Ramadan. There are more than 10 such clinics in Riyadh and one of them is exclusively for women.
He said the number of deaths due to smoking is greater than the casualties attributed to accidents and drugs. He pointed out that the habit of smoking leads to many serious diseases that dramatically destroy human health and cause chronic diseases such as heart attacks, atherosclerosis and clogged air passages.
Al-Bazie indicated that quitting smoking is not an easy task. “Smokers, who want to quit, face a difficult challenge, because of the nicotine addiction.” It requires the will and strong determination to stop smoking and they need to seek the help of specialists at the anti-smoking clinics.
He pointed out that passive smoking is very harmful, which exposes a non-smoker to toxic gases emanating from smokers and cigarettes. “Passive smoking damages the lungs of innocent children.”
Al-Bazie confirmed that studies have shown that smoking will raise blood sugar levels of diabetic patients due to the presence of nicotine.
He noted that the scientific facts have proven that smoking causes many types of cancer, notably lung cancer. “If urgent measures are not taken, the number of deaths due to smoking will reach more than 8 million by 2030,” he noted.
There are some 7 million smokers in the Kingdom which includes nearly 1.1 million women, according to a local study. The study showed school students account for nearly 15-27 percent of total smokers in Saudi Arabia, which has the 29th highest smoking rate in the world.
The Kingdom joined the anti-tobacco agreement in May 2005. Saudi Arabia ranks fourth among world countries in tobacco imports and consumption. More than 15 billion cigarettes, worth 168 million dollars, are being smoked by Saudis per year, according to the figures of the Gulf Cooperation Council Health Ministers Council.