Dubai: The federal tobacco control law is expected to be implemented by the end of the year once the Federal National Council (FNC) holds deliberations on various aspects of the legislation that have been delayed by the summer holidays and Ramadan.
The draft law has seen several delays since the Ministry of Health announced its intention to pass a tobacco control law for the UAE in keeping with the country's commitment to the World Health Organisation (WHO) Framework Convention of Tobacco Control. Officials had initially expected the law to come out at the end of 2006.
Dr Wedad Al Maidoor, head of the National Tobacco Control Committee, told Gulf News the draft law has been slotted for FNC debates on November 11. The next step is to submit it to the Cabinet for discussion before ratification by the UAE President.
"The federal tobacco [draft] law is ready but we will not have the FNC meeting till November. By the end of the year, God willing, it will come out," she said.
"It needs to come out as soon as possible in view of the trend of availability and sale of tobacco products," she said, adding that the draft law would help unify tobacco-control policies in the UAE.
Regulation of shisha
Dubai has implemented several tobacco-control initiatives, outlawing smoking in enclosed public spaces and banned sale of tobacco products to those under the age of 20. The emirate and Abu Dhabi are also regulating shisha cafes. Smoking in malls and shisha cafes are banned in Sharjah, while other emirates have banned or limited smoking in some way.
The draft law will not ban shisha cafes as originally intended, but will instead limit their operation. It proposes that shisha cafes be operated on the ground floor outdoors but bans any shisha cafe from operating in residential buildings.
Dr Wedad said the ministry's anti-smoking clinics have been receiving at least seven cases each day compared to three or four during the previous Ramadan.
"The trend continues. Ramadan is the best time to quit because people have to go without smoking for more than 12 hours anyway," she said.
She added that the ministry would be conducting a study on the prevalence of tobacco use in the UAE in October to determine whether tobacco control efforts in the country have achieved desired impact.
She also said it was too soon to tell if the number of smokers had declined.
About 27 per cent of men and 2.4 per cent of women in the UAE use tobacco products like shisha and midwakh, while 25.2 and 3.0 per cent respectively smoke cigarettes, according to figures from the WHO.
