ABU DHABI // Almost 30 per cent of Emiratis in their thirties smoke and medwakh is the most popular way to do so, evidence from a health-screening programme in Abu Dhabi suggests.
The figure is higher than in the United States, where 20 per cent of people between 25 and 44 smoke, and the UK, where 24 per cent of people aged 25 to 34 are smokers.
New data from Abu Dhabi premarital screenings in 2015 also showed that nearly a quarter of couples were smokers, with cigarettes the most common form of tobacco consumption.
Experts say tobacco use is on the rise, fuelled by cheap cigarettes and high incomes.
“Cigarette costs are lower here than in many parts of the world, but not significantly lower,” said Dr Samah Ahmed, a pulmonology specialist at Burjeel Medical Centre in Shahama. “But people’s higher socio-economic status means it’s not unaffordable.”
“Tobacco use has been in the region for a long time,” Dr Ahmed said. “Statistics show that tobacco use is rising.”
According to the Tobacco Atlas, a compendium of research on tobacco use produced by the American Cancer Society and the World Lung Foundation, the cigarette market in the Eastern Mediterranean region increased by more than a third since 2000, the highest growth rate in the world.
Dr Ahmed said smoking was also a problem among teenagers.
“Most parents don’t know their children are smokers,” she said. “Parents have to be cautious, and notice. The teens say their parents don’t know they smoke as they do so outside the house.”
Dr Ahmed said children who did not smoke could be affected by adults who do in enclosed spaces. She treats about five children a month for asthma.
“Smoke inside the house triggers asthma in children,” she said. “There is a high rate of asthmatic children here.” She urged parents who smoked to use the harm it could cause to children as motivation to quit. “Get help from healthcare providers on overcoming craving symptoms,” she said.
“If you failed to quit earlier, you may succeed. We have nicotine replacement therapy. There is psychological support and medical treatment.”
The Health Authority Abu Dhabi, whose Weqaya screening programme revealed the number of smokers in their thirties, has also launched its annual tobacco control awareness campaign.
Smokers are urged to visit a tobacco cessation clinic at Sheikh Khalifa Medical City or the American Centre for Psychiatry & Neurology in the capital, Al Jahili Healthcare Centre or Oud Al Toba Primary Health Care Centre in Al Ain, or Al Dhafra Family Medicine Centre in Al Gharbia.
The authority is “intensifying its efforts to highlight tobacco addiction and methods of recovery to achieve its vision for a healthier Abu Dhabi”, said Dr Omniyat Al Hajeri, its director of public health and research.
“We encourage all smokers to persist with their efforts to give up all forms of tobacco use – no matter the number of attempts it takes to successfully quit – by taking advantage of the treatment and support services available to them through tobacco cessation clinics.
“Most smokers who are aware of the dangers of tobacco use have a desire to quit, and seeking medical guidance can double a smoker’s chances of quitting successfully.”
arizvi2@thenational.ae
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Abramovich London
A Kensington Palace Gardens house with 15 bedrooms is valued at more than £150 million.
A three-storey penthouse at Chelsea Waterfront bought for £22 million.
Steel company Evraz drops more than 10 per cent in trading after UK officials said it was potentially supplying the Russian military.
Sale of Chelsea Football Club is now impossible.
