Saudi smokers puff away about SR5 billion in cigarettes annually, a latest World Health Organization (WHO) study has found out. The study reveals that the Kingdom was ranked 23rd in the world where on an average a smoker consumes 2,130 cigarettes per annum, the figure adding up to 15 billion cigarettes every year. A new law to eliminate smoking in public and workplaces in Saudi Arabia has been drafted and is awaiting Cabinet approval. The law would impose a fine of SR200 for smoking in public places. Dr. Abdullah Al Dal'an, a consultant of pectoral diseases at King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Riyadh, said according to the recent WHO survey, only five percent of the world population live in countries having strict laws against smoking. “As a specialized doctor, I can assume that smoking is an organic addiction and not a habitual compulsion. The nicotine works as a stimulator to some receptors in the human brain which, in turn, increases the secretion of the dopamine hormone (a hormone which is responsible for some human being behavior including motivation, mood, and motor activity). As a result the smoker feels comfort and contentment. “And here comes the difficulty of quitting this bad habit. However, by some anti-smoking programs and some medications like Varenicline and Champix in Europe – a smoker can quit this deadly habit,” Al-Dal'an said. __
