The general court in Riyadh on 21 October has begun hearing a lawsuit filed by the Ministry of Health against agents of international tobacco companies in the Kingdom.

The ministry is demanding compensation of AED 10 billion (EUR 2.06 billion) and an annual compensation of AED 500 million for the expenditures incurred on the treatment of smokers.
“This is the first case filed by the ministry against agents of tobacco companies, demanding compensation for medical care,” said an official statement carried by the Saudi press agency.
In a previous statement on the issue, health minister Hamad Al-Manie said he was confident that his ministry would win the lawsuit since it provided statistics and medical data that showed how smoking eats away at social spending connected with smoking-related medical treatment of citizens.
A new law to combat smoking in public and workplaces has been drafted and is awaiting cabinet approval. The law is significant as Saudi Arabia tops the list of tobacco importers, according to 2007 statistics. Iran is placed second, followed by Jordan, Turkey, Morocco and Egypt. (pi)