JEDDAH — Al-Amal rehabilitation hospitals in Riyadh and Dammam have reportedly allowed their patients to smoke in their hospital yards, even though the Ministry of Health and governorates in the Kingdom have banned smoking inside hospitals and other government buildings. In addition, psychiatric hospitals in the Kingdom also allow their patients to smoke inside their yards but Al-Amal in Jeddah has banned smoking, Makkah daily reported. Sources at Al-Amal said patients are allowed a certain number of cigarettes a day and they are subjected to body searches before they return to their rooms to make sure they do not carry any cigarettes with them. These sources said a recent circular from the Ministry of Health has explicitly banned smoking inside hospitals. "Hospitals will abide by the circular, but expect patients will be annoyed and resent the decision," one source said. The head of psychological health and community services at the Ministry of Health, Dr. Abdulhameed Al-Habeeb, said smoking is addictive and has negative physiological and psychological effects on smokers. Despite government efforts to combat smoking through awareness campaigns and providing free medications to combat the addiction, a study has shown the number of smokers in the Kingdom is expected to reach 10 million by 2020, an increase of 4 million from current estimates. A report issued by the Ministry of Health's program to tackle smoking stated 16 percent of girl students have tried smoking at least once and that 11 percent smoke on a regular basis. The study has warned of the increasing number of women smokers, which it said was due to the female-oriented advertising campaigns of cigarette companies. Around 15 billion cigarettes worth SR1.3 billion are sold in the Kingdom every year, while the Kingdom is the fourth largest importer of cigarettes worldwide per capita. The Kingdom is also the 23rd highest consumer of tobacco and official statistics have estimated that King Faisal Specialist Hospital (KFSH) has spent SR10 billion during the past 25 years in treating smoking patients.
