‘Tobacco consumption rates among adult Jordanians highest in region’

AMMAN — The tobacco consumption rate among Jordanians is expected to reach 50 per cent by 2025, a matter that necessitates firmer implementation of tobacco control measures, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

The current overall tobacco consumption rate among adult Jordanians is 40 per cent, which is the highest rate in the region, WHO consultant Fatima Awwa said Wednesday on the sidelines of a meeting on Jordan's national tobacco control strategy 2016-2018.

She added that 34 per cent of Jordanians between the ages of 13 and 15 consume tobacco, while over 40 per cent of individuals within the same age group have tried tobacco products. 

Awwa described the figures as "very scary and alarming".

But she noted that Jordan's "firm" implementation of WHO's MPOWER strategy — a comprehensive set of tobacco control measures — can reduce the consumption rate by 36 per cent in five years and by 56 per cent in 15 years.

The fight against tobacco is a comprehensive one that requires the participation of all stakeholders, as well as the help of smokers to save the new generations from the consequences of smoking, said HH Princess Dina Mired, director of the King Hussein Cancer Foundation (KHCF).

"We see the consumers of tobacco every day at the King Hussein Cancer Centre," she said, noting that the majority of smokers receiving medical care at the centre are in their thirties and forties.

"Our battle is not against smokers, but against tobacco products and cigarette companies," Princess Dina noted, explaining that tobacco companies allocate large amounts of their budgets for marketing campaigns that encourage young people to try smoking and gradually become addicted.

She stressed the need for a participatory approach among all concerned parties in implementing the national tobacco control strategy, which will be officially launched on May 31 next year, marking World No Tobacco Day.

Health Ministry Secretary General Daifallah Lozi said 6 million people die around the world due to tobacco-related reasons every year, including 600,000 non-smokers, and the total figure is expected to reach 8 million by 2030.

He highlighted the ministry's efforts to control tobacco and assist smokers seeking to quit through four specialised clinics that provide free medication. 

Lozi cited the Prime Ministry's directives to all private and public entities to develop tobacco control work plans, supported by time frames, to enforce related regulations.   

One in eight deaths in Jordan is related to tobacco consumption, WHO representative to Jordan Maria Cristina Profili said, noting that smoking in public areas is "uncomfortable" for non-smokers and restricts their freedoms.

She said political commitment and the collaboration of all stakeholders are two key factors to curb the spread of the tobacco epidemic.

Malek Habashneh, director of the Health Ministry’s awareness department, underscored the responsibility of all concerned entities to enforce tobacco control regulations. 

He noted that the 2016-2018 roadmap seeks to advance tobacco control as a national priority; create tobacco-free public spaces; implement a total ban on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship; and strengthen supply control measures by 2017.

By 2018 the strategy seeks to monitor the tobacco epidemic through systematic surveillance, offer help to smokers seeking to quit, spread public knowledge through mass media campaigns and reduce the affordability of tobacco products.