A joint national survey by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Ministry of Health and Population in Egypt has found that nearly half of young Egyptians are exposed to secondhand smoke at home, and 36.5 per cent are exposed to smoke at work, Asharq Al-awsat reported.
Dr Doaa Al-Saleh, coordinator of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), commented on the results saying, “These rates refer to those who are forcibly exposed to smoking, but the rate of those who smoke is high as well.”
The report, which is based on self-reported data, also found that almost a quarter of the Egyptian population (22.8 per cent) consumes some form of tobacco. Tobacco use is particularly high among men. 43.6 per cent of male participants reported using some form of tobacco when the survey was conducted. These rates make Egypt among the countries with the highest smoking rate in the Middle East and the world, Asharq Al-awsat reported.
Contrary to men, the report showed that the smoking rate among women, was only 0.5 per cent. Saleh said that the extremely low rate is due to the methodology of the survey, which is “based on visits the organisation team made in homes, where most women deny smoking in the presence of a husband, father or brother.”