Half of the Saudi population are smokers, and they consume 40,000 tons of tobacco a year, according to the Arabic daily Al-Hayat. As the World Anti-Smoking Day on May 31 approaches, Dr. Abdullah Al-Badah, Supervisor General of the Anti-Smoking Program at Saudi Ministry of Health, warned that tens of thousands Saudis are dying every year because of smoking. Al-Hayat quoted Badah as saying that the latest surveys and field studies had arrived at terrifying results. According to the ministry's latest studies, the annual average death toll among smokers between 2008-2010 is estimated at 32,000. Baddah also alerted the public about the astronomical figures the government spends annually on patients who develop serious diseases and complications because of smoking. He pointed out that their treatment costs the state's treasury some SR5 billion a year, which otherwise could have been spent on development projects that could have served the interests of citizens and their well-being better. Baddah added that all the studies conducted on the economic cost the Kingdom bears because of the consumption of tobacco anticipated that the cost would jump to SR7.2 billion in 2010. Initial estimates, he said, indicate that the rate of male smokers in the Kingdom in proportion to the number of the population ranges between 35 and 45 percent. Female smokers are estimated at five to 10 percent of the population. Another survey, he added, showed that about 15 to 25 percent of male students in the Kingdom are smokers. Baddah pointed out that the Kingdom's imports of American-made cigarettes occupy the first position, with British cigarettes coming in second. He said the Kingdom still needs to exert more efforts to reach the levels of success achieved by advanced countries in reducing the yearly consumption of tobacco. He noted that the Kingdom may need to exert greater efforts to curtail the growing annual demand for tobacco. Saudi Arabia is ranked 52nd in the world in terms of expenditure on tobacco, and the world's 10th country in expenditure on tobacco imports. Dr Al-Badah said at 40,000 tons a year, the sheer size of the Kingdom's annual imports of tobacco is very alarming. In a book he had written about the issue, Badah introduced a slew of recommendations that he believes would help in reducing the Kingdom's imports of tobacco. They include levying taxes on tobacco, as well as establishing a center for tobacco research that would explore ways to combat it, and involving experts in medicine, psychology and sociology. He said researchers at the center should be mainly engaged in devising a phased national strategy for anti –smoking and decreasing the rate of consumption. Badah said another study has revealed that 46 percent of the male students in Riyadh can buy cigarettes directly from groceries, while 84 percent of these shops are not supposed to sell them cigarettes because of their young age. He pointed out a statistical report which estimated the value of the Kingdom's imports of cigarettes at SR13 billion between 2005 -2010. The report put the costs of smuggled cigarettes at SR3 billion, and number of early deaths because of smoking at 17,700.
