SAUDI ARABIA
New tobacco license regulation approved

The Cabinet has approved a new licensing regulation requiring cafes and restaurants in Saudi Arabia to pay up to SAR 100,000 (EUR 23,758) per year to sell tobacco products inside and outside their premises, Arab News reported.

Saudi Arabia was one of the first countries to ratify the WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in 2005, an ambitious plan to reduce the smoking rate from 12.7 per cent to 5 per cent by 2030, the report said. The Health Ministry has taken steps to curb smoking through awareness campaigns and cessation clinics. Taxes on cigarettes doubled in 2017, leading to a 213 per cent increase in smokers seeking help to give up the habit in the following months.
Associate professor of history at Middle Tennessee State University Dr Sean Foley, who is writing a book on smoking in Saudi Arabia and the wider Muslim world, told Arab News the new law was part of the Kingdom’s attempts to address a serious health crisis while also meeting a goal of the Vision 2030 reform plan to move away from non-oil revenues. “Many restaurants may not be able to afford to pay for such an expensive permit, so there is likely to be less smoking in restaurants. That would mean there will be fewer people exposed to second-hand smoke in restaurants, itself a serious problem, and existing smokers would have a powerful new incentive to quit. Studies have consistently shown that creating smoke-free areas is one of the most powerful tools to motivate and help existing tobacco users to quit while preventing new smokers from picking up the habit,” he was quoted as saying.
According to the WHO, the smoking rate in 2016 was 12.2 per cent.

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