The Saudi private sector once again takes up the cudgel on preventing the massive annual loss brought about by heavy smoking, with the inauguration of first private sector anti-smoking clinic in the Kingdom. The debut of the New Jeddah Clinic Hospitals (NJCH) new anti-smoking facility, in collaboration with Pfizer Inc., heralds the ongoing coordination between government and private healthcare organizations aimed at unifying efforts to combat smoking pandemic by offering various methods and services to help smokers quit the habit and enjoy a healthier, smoke-free life. Dr. Khaled Hamed Mutabaqani, vice chairman, NJCH, said recent studies confirmed that smoking as one of the main causes of death in Saudi Arabia and worldwide. “The toll of smoking associated deaths in KSA has exceeded 30,000 in 2008” he said. “Between 2000 - 2004, the cost of smoking associated diseases in the Kingdom soared to some SR12 billion. Such very stunning cost incurred immense economic burden to the healthcare sector, affecting the overall landscape of the Saudi economy.” Dr. Magdi Mohsen, Public Affairs manager at Pfizer Inc., said “smokers in the Kingdom spend around SR5 billion every year on 40,000 tons of tobacco.” “This sum is equivalent to the total amount of the Kingdom's imports of major foodstuff such as rice.” Dr. Mohsen called for a “Tobacco for Rice” slogan to emphasis the irony of the situation and the economical burden tobacco places on the country, demonstrating that by quitting smokers can prevent some 90 percent of potential cancerous illnesses. “International efforts to combat smoking have focused on two main elements, i.e., to enforce legislations forbidding smoking in various places and developing an effective medical treatment for nicotine addiction,” Mohsen added, noting that Pfizer's launch of “Varenicline tartrate” known as “Champix” is a breakthrough and a major step forward in that direction.” He explained that Champix prevents nicotine from getting attached to receptors in the brain which result in developing an addiction and helps minimize nicotine withdrawal symptoms, thus helping the smoker to quit. Commenting on smoking hazards, Abdullah Al Srouji, manager of Anti-Smoking Awareness Charitable Society in Jeddah, said smoking was a sort of addiction linked to certain habits. He did also called to unify efforts to help support smokers with quitting and offer all possible assistance to them, through imposing tighter regulations prohibiting smoking in public areas, conducting a series of awareness campaigns and offering appropriate methods and medication. “It's our mission to promote the ‘Healthy Youth without Tobacco' motto,” Mutabaqani stressed. __
