A smoker undergoes a medical checkup at a free clinic at the Red Sea Mall on Monday. – SG photo by Mohammed Mazhar Siddiqi JEDDAH – The number of female smokers in the Kingdom has shot up this year, making smoking a phenomenon of sorts among women, said Dr. Ali Al-Zahrani, a member of the Anti-Smoking Committee of Jeddah Health Affairs. Dr. Al-Zahrani spoke to Saudi Gazette at an anti-smoking campaign that was inaugurated by Dr. Turki Al-Sharif, assistant director of Jeddah Health Affairs for Clinical Affairs and Hospitals, at the Red Sea Mall, Monday evening. The event held under the theme “Smoking is a pandemic, which has already caused damage to men's health and is targeting women in the coming phase” is part of the four-day activities planned by Jeddah Health Affairs to mark International Anti-Smoking Day (May 31). Dr. Al-Zahrani said the Jeddah First Aid Care Center has launched four anti-smoking clinics in Bariman, Al-Salamah, Al-Balad and Al-Safa Districts. He said behavior medicine, tablet therapy and nicotine patch plasters are the common ways of treating smoking addicts at these clinics. Health Affairs kicked off its anti-smoking campaign a month ago with similar programs in Al-Andalus Mall, Aziz Mall and Al-Arab Mall. The campaign aims to collect data on the actual number of smokers, both male and female, by asking people to fill out forms at the malls. Free clinics set up by Jeddah Health Affairs in the Red Sea Mall provide medical checkups to smokers before they are assisted in quitting smoking. “In a closed environment, a smoker is not only harming himself but also those who are nearby, such as, friends, children, etc. So he should quit smoking at least for the sake of their health, if not for his own,” said Dr. Al-Zahrani. Dr. Manal Shams, Anti-Smoking Program organizer at Jeddah Health Affairs, said the program focuses on highlighting the positive stories of people who were successful in kicking the habit so as to convince smokers that they too can quit if they are strong willed.
