According to Gulf Times, the Qatar government’s Ministry of Public Health is planning to cut down tobacco use in the country by 30 percent. Qatar hopes to reach this goal by the year 2022, in a move that is directed towards a healthier nation.
This goal is one of the main objectives of the National Health Strategy, which encompasses the year 2018 up to 2022. According to some surveys, around 32 percent of men in Qatar smoke. The government aims to achieve the tobacco intake reduction by coming up with creative ways to promote its non-use.
Qatar Aims Optimal Implementation of Tobacco Control Law by 2022
Preventive Measures
According to Dr. Ahmed Mohamed al-Mulla, HMC Tobacco Control Center Head, the government, in cooperation with several health sector agencies, is creating plans to encourage people to quit smoking. This involves promoting the use of certain services, including the ones by Hamad Medical Corporation’s Center for Smoking Control. This year, 2132 people visited the smoking cessation clinics in the Hamad Medical Corporation’s Tobacco Control Center.
Tobacco Control Law
This stop smoking campaign spearheaded by the Ministry of Public Health, in cooperation with the Primary Health Care Corporation and the Hamad Medical Corporation, calls on all citizens to abide by an existing law in Qatar called the Tobacco Control Law. The Tobacco Control Law, also known as the Law No. 10 of 2016, is all about controlling tobacco and tobacco derivatives.
Dangers of Tobacco
Part of the tobacco cessation initiative is an information drive, which tells Qataris the harmful effects of tobacco. Tobacco contains toxic chemicals that are strongly linked to harmful diseases like cancer and heart ailments. Secondhand smoke is equally as dangerous, and mostly affect the families of smokers while quietly living in their homes. The campaign, therefore, aims to protect not only the smokers themselves, but also their families and the people around them.
Two Phases
The first phase of the program is focused on helping the youth to prevent them for smoking. The second phase is all about guiding the general public. The Qatar government hopes that ultimately, the Tobacco Control Law will be optimally implemented, so that it will be observed in all places in the country, including shops. However, in case a certain shop wants to allow smoking for customers, they can get a permit or a license to do so.
This move by the Qatar government is certainly a step in the right direction. The overall health of its citizens should be one of its top priorities, and surely, reducing tobacco intake will make the country so much healthier.