Arab News reports on new anti-smoking laws ready to be approved by the Cabinet of Ministers. The laws prohibit smoking in public places such as schools, sporting events, restaurants, offices, mosques, and factories. It bans the selling of cigarettes to minors. There was an attempt to raise the tax on cigarettes by 200%, but that move was defeated because it required approval by all the GCC states due to customs treaties.

I’m not sure how a ban on shisha in restaurants and cafes is going to work out, though. I think there might be some social push-back, though strict Salafis condemn smoking as un-Islamic to begin with.

Law to combat smoking awaits Cabinet approval
P.K. Abdul Ghafour } Arab News

JEDDAH: A new law to combat smoking in public and workplaces has been drafted and is awaiting Cabinet approval. Those smoking in public places will be fined SR200.

Suleiman Al-Sabi, secretary-general of the Charitable Society to Combat Smoking, urged those affected by smokers at work and public places to take legal action against them, demanding compensation.

“Parents should file lawsuits against teachers who smoke in schools as well as against traders who sell cigarettes to their children,” he said.

He said the new law, which will be effective a year after its publication in the official gazette, was prepared by the committee of experts at the Council of Ministers.
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