WITH the onset of the holy season of Haj, the Kingdom's Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz Aal Al-Sheikh has implored all of those entering the Holy City of Makkah to maintain “the sanctity of the inviolable city of worship” by refraining from smoking. He pointed out that thousands of people die each year from smoking-related heart and lung diseases and that passive smoking has been proven to be injurious to health. The pilgrims, he said, had a golden opportunity to quit the habit during their stay in Makkah and Madina. While smoking during the pilgrimage in the Holy Cities is particularly inappropriate, the Grand Mufti's statement raises the larger question of what is being done to minimize or eliminate smoking from society in general. The government has banned smoking in government offices, public places and buses, and posters have been put up almost everywhere alerting people to the dangers of the habit. We have to ask to what degree these rules are being enforced. One can still see people smoking in areas where it has been banned. Specially designated smoking rooms have been created at some airports, for example, but there are still some people who light up in areas that are meant to be smoke-free. More steps need to be taken. The authorities should see to it that the cost of a pack of cigarettes becomes prohibitive. No one smokes for free; someone has to buy the cigarettes. Let the laws of economics come into play. Smokers should also be helped to quit. Clinics should be opened utilizing the latest medicines and techniques where smokers can obtain free treatment to help them kick the habit. Finally, public awareness needs to be heightened and a sense of responsibility needs to be fostered in all. If you consider the issue of passive smoking, then you will realize that we are all in this together. That is to say, if someone is smoking near you and your family, then your wife and children are also being forced to smoke, and you and they should have a choice in that decision. It may be at that point that you kindly ask the smoker if he would not mind going to a smoking area. This would involve a certain amount of tact and sensitivity, and many people would be reluctant to get involved. But with the health stakes as high as they are, can we afford not to give it a try? __
