Saudi Gazette Jubail, earlier was merely known as an industrial city. Although now, it has attracted tourists in large number as its white sandy shores, sparkling water of the Arabian Gulf Sea, fine dining, and overall cleanliness is simply spectacular and exotic. Many families have picked this coastal city as their holiday abode for their current spring break. The Royal Commission for Jubail has launched a campaign to inform both residents and tourists that smoking is banned in closed public spaces, such as shopping centers, stores, cafés, and restaurants. To reinforce the ban on smoking, the Royal Commission has set up signposts that say: “Welcome…smoking is prohibited.” The Royal Commission has also installed electronic advertisement screens displaying no-smoking messages and pictures in popular public places across Jubail as many visitors are unaware of this new law. The recently passed law also prohibits the sale of cigarettes to minors and requires customers to show identification cards to prove that they above 18 years of age. Protecting the health of the community can be accomplished first by the cooperation from the city government followed by health educators, families, and then individual. As Saeed Saad bin Dhaiba, a social worker at the Royal Commission for Jubail, said, “All members of the community share the responsibility of seeking better health for the younger generations. The goal of this campaign does not stop at forbidding a person or a group of people from smoking in public. This campaign was launched to educate the society on the dangers of smoking. Visitors and customers of public places have the right to breathe clean, smoke-free air. Smokers should not be allowed to force upon others the health risks associated with passive smoking. Shopping center and restaurant managers, public officials, and security guards have been trained to implement the ban on smoking and impose fines on smokers, in order to protect the customer's right of a smoke-free environment. We hope that other cities will follow suit and the no-smoking ban will be applied in all cities of the Kingdom.” Dhaiba further added, “Seeing smokers in public and freely socializing with them, accustoms children and teenagers to the habit of smoking, and increases the chances that they will also become smokers when they are adults in the future.” “We must implement the strict ban on smoking without any exceptions or hesitation. With respect, we remind the violator of the no-smoking law and then impose a fine for breaking this law, as mentioned by the Royal Commission for Jubail. We have been facing slight resistance and difficulty when dealing with visitors and tourists who are new to Jubail and its rules and regulations,” said Saeed Al-Fardan, manager of a shopping center in Jubail. __
