Amman, 31 May 2015 - The World No Tobacco Day in Amman was marked this year by a briefing to the media at the WHO office in Jordan. This year WHO is calling on countries to stop the illicit trade of tobacco products, by committing to, and becoming Party to the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products.
The event was organized by WHO,in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Industry and Trade, King Hussein Cancer Center and Greater Amman Municipality and several national governmental organizations working in tobacco control.
An exhibition was displayed to introduce the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) and 6 MPOWER policy measures to fight tobacco epidemic. These measures are intended to assist the country-level implementation of effective interventions to reduce the demand for tobacco use.
A panel discussion headed by Dr Maria Cristina Profili, WHO Representative to Jordan, H.E Dr Yassin Al Hosban, former Health Minister and Chairman of the Health Committee in the House of Senate, Dr Malek Habasheneh Director of Health Awareness Directorate at the Ministry of Health, Dr Feras Hawari Director of the Cancer Control at King Hussein Cancer Center and a representative from the Ministry of Industry and Trade Eng. Mohamed al-Khalidi responded to media questions. Representatives of national governmental organizations took part in the discussions and highlighted the importance of the media in supporting tobacco control efforts in Jordan.
In her welcoming remarks Dr Profili stressed that “Higher taxes usually lead to higher prices, which in turn lead to lower consumption”. She also emphasized that Jordan has tobacco control law and appealed media outlets to help in reaching citizens to inform them on their rights to protect their health from second hand smoke exposure and therefore enforce this important law, and urge people to stop smoking in public places, stop smoking in health facilities, stop smoking in schools, stop smoking in sport centers, and stop smoking inside restaurants and hotels”.
Tobacco use among Jordanians is 29% at a rate of 6.49% in adult males, and 7.5% in females. Jordan is the third highest percentage in the use of tobacco among young people 13-15 years old in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, and fifth in smoking cigarettes, and the percentage between males is 34% and 4.19% percent in females within this age group Dr Malek added. Dr Malek stated that the ministry is planning to amend the Public Health law, to increase fines against smoking in public places,
H.E Dr Hosban said that Jordan is ranked badly among the countries of the Eastern Mediterranean region in the fight against tobacco, despite the existence of legislation which suffer from the weakness of the application. H.E also pointed out the high cost of treatment of diseases associated with smoking, particularly lung cancer, emphasizing the need of not linking smoking Arjeeleh to tourism in Jordan as an attractive factor.
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