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Posted: 29-May-2009 18:49 hrs
A Lebanese woman smokes a narghile, or waterpipe, at a restaurant in downtown Beirut. Want to indulge in a guilt-free tobacco experience? Then head to Lebanon, a smoker's paradise where you can work, dine and have your hair styled in a cloud of smoke.
"You even see them at ski resorts," he added. "Where there are youths, there are tobacco companies."
The area manager for
Philip Morris, the largest importer of
cigarettes in Lebanon, rejected the accusations.
"We market our products to adult smokers only and we're very strict about that," said Emile Moukarzel.
"We try our best to prevent minors from
smoking, not only because it is mandated by the serious
health effects of our product but also because it also makes business sense."
Once hooked, you're hooked for life
British American Tobacco, the second largest importer of cigarettes in Lebanon, had no one available to comment for this article.
Health professionals say the number of smokers in Lebanon is among the highest in the region and cancer-related illnesses directly linked to tobacco are rising at a rapid rate.
An estimated 3,500 people die annually from illnesses related to smoking, they said.
"In the last five years we have seen a 17-percent increase in cardio-vascular disease while the
United States saw a 17-percent drop for the same period," Saade said.
Ironically, some of the local companies that market cigarettes are also the agents for cancer-fighting drugs.
Most worrisome is a growing trend of narghile, or water pipe, smokers, especially among teenagers who wrongly believe it is less harmful to their health than cigarettes, experts say.
"We are facing every day new evidence about narghile smoking, which is spreading among all age groups but more specifically among youths," said Rima Nakkash, an American University of Beirut professor who is doing research on the issue.
She said according to a 2005 survey carried out by WHO, 60 percent of youths in Lebanon aged between 13 and 15 smoke cigarettes, narghile or cigars, the highest number in the region.
Overall, an estimated 42 percent of males and 30 percent of females smoke in Lebanon, a country of 4.5 million inhabitants, health experts say.
"The
tobacco industry has recognized the
Middle East as one region of the world which has the least restrictive regulations compared to other countries, even in Asia,"
Zaatari said.
"So sometimes they use countries like Lebanon as dumping grounds for products they are unable to bring into other countries.
"And they are particularly interested in young people because once you're hooked, you're hooked for life," he added.
Zaatari also noted that although Lebanon signed WHO's
Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in 2005 it has failed to ratify the document and has shown little interest in enforcement.
For example a survey conducted at 40 restaurants nationwide in coordination with the
Harvard School of Public Health showed that air quality in such establishments was, on average, hazardous by WHO standards.
"The thing with Lebanon is we are behind 20 or 30 years as far as tobacco control but we can learn from the experience of other countries," Nakkash said.
"We can learn how they failed and succeeded.
"It's not like we are drawing up a nuclear strategy." —
AFP
From TODAYOnline.com, Health; see the source article here.
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