9 November 2008
Despite general ban on smoking of minors here, they were mainly caught by health inspectors at 17 shopping malls.
As part of the ban on smoking in closed public places, 17 women and 662 men were found breaking the law in the same period. “We carried out 173 surprise inspections in 21 premises and gave 55 verbal warnings to those found smoking and violating the rules,” said Dr Khalil Rabi, Head of Water Safety and Public health Institution at the Ministry of Health in a statement last week.
He said 2,749 smokers were asked to stub their cigarettes. Rabi said the inspections were part of the ministry’s efforts to combat smoking. The Ministry is working on strategy to discourage smoking among minors and is targeting cold stores, which sell cigarettes. In addition, it has also tied up with the Ministry of Education to include in its curricula the effects of smoking.
Bahrain joined the International Anti-Tobacco Agreement that forbids all types of advertisement on tobacco products, while the government doesn’t punish minors for smoking but those selling them cigarette especially small coldstores with BD1,000 to BD3,000 and confiscation of assets. Promoting of cigarette companies is punishable with fines ranging from BD2,000 to BD3,000.
According to the last health survey, twenty per cent of Bahrainis are smokers.
Managements of the leading malls agreed to implement a ban on smoking in their premises from May 31 last. A decision was also taken to fine the ban violators BD20 for the first offence and BD500 for repeat offences. But the ministry is yet to levy fine on those caught smoking in malls.
Anti-smoking brochures in Arabic and English are distributed at the King Fahad Causeway’s toll counter for those entering
In 2005, lawmakers had proposed price hike for tobacco products based on standards in western countries and European Union. The government is yet to approve the tax proposal.
Health officials want to increase the tax to 150 per cent to discourage smoking and they are still negotiating on this issue.
