Anti-smoking campaign targets Mecca

MOSQUE MESSAGE: Health officials have flood the holy city of Mecca to give anti-smoking message to worshippers. (Getty Images)

A major crackdown on smoking has been launched in the Saudi holy city of Mecca.

Coinciding with the beginning of Ramadan, the kingdom has called on worshippers to make the city smoke-free.

More than 100 health officials have been sent to Mecca to spread the word on smoking and raise awareness of its dangers.

“More than 100 health officials and a large contingent of scouts have taken positions around the Grand Mosque in Makkah to raise awareness about the negative effects of smoking,” Dr Sameer Al-Sabban, executive director of the Anti-Smoking Campaign in Mecca, told Arab News on Wednesday.

“We have launched this campaign at a time when thousands of local and foreign pilgrims are gathering at the Grand Mosque so that our message can reach the four corners of the globe,” he said.

Health leaflet printed in seven languages are being handed out by officials who have been directed to walk around the Grand Mosque’s courtyard from iftar until suhoor.

Saudi Arabia ranks fourth among world countries in tobacco imports and consumption, and Saudis smoke more than 15 billion cigarettes, worth $168 million, each year according to figures issued by the Gulf Cooperation Council’s Health Ministers Council.

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