

In spite of heavy taxes on cigarettes and the ban on advertising tobacco products, their usage continues to pose a health threat to both smokers and passive smokers. Smoking is banned in public buildings and is only allowed in designated areas. The Ministerial Decision No 286/2008 on Regulation of Occupational Safety and Health regulates smoking in workplaces, but the damage continues. According to the National Cancer Institute, “Passive smoking is the combination of the smoke emitted by a burning tobacco product and the smoke exhaled by the smoker. It is also called environmental tobacco smoke, involuntary smoke, and passive smoke.”
The institute points out that more than 7,000 chemicals have been identified in secondhand tobacco smoke. At least 69 of these chemicals are known to cause cancer, including arsenic, benzene, beryllium, chromium and formaldehyde.
The campaign, ‘National Tobacco Harm Awareness Programme’ from the Ministry of Health, will continue for one year in the Sultanate of Oman.
It is being implemented in schools, public and private higher education institutions, various media outlets, public spaces, healthcare facilities, community educational activities, sports clubs and Omani Women’s Associations.
According to Dr Ahmed bin Salim al Mandhari, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Health for Planning and Health Organisation, “Tobacco use in all its forms poses a significant threat to public health.”
He emphasised at the event that scientific evidence, as reported by the World Health Organization (WHO), confirms this threat.
According to WHO statistics, more than five million deaths occur annually due to tobacco use, a number that could rise to over eight million by 2030 unless urgent action is taken to combat the tobacco epidemic.
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here