Egypt’s tobacco report

Country needs national anti-smoking programme

 

The Ministry of Health, the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics, and the World Health Organization have produced the first report to include comprehensive data on adult tobacco consumption in Egypt. The report features a survey conducted on a sample of 23,760 male and female subjects over the age of 15. The report also includes information about preventative measures undertaken to discourage smoking.

The report revealed that the most common tobacco product used is cigarettes, and also provided an insight into tobacco consumption patterns. 56.2% of people who smoke shisha do so at home, with 35.9% smoking it at coffee shops. The report highlighted the important role played by national programmes in supporting smokers who want to quit. It concluded that Egypt needs an effective national programme to help people give up smoking, especially since 41% of smokers say they have tried at some point to give up but failed, with only 17.1% of smokers succeeding.

Source: Almasryalyoum, 27 April 2010.

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