E-cigarettes are banned in the UAE but some doctors say that they are a safer alternative to smoking normal cigarettes. Getty Images / AFP
E-cigarettes are banned in the UAE but some doctors say that they are a safer alternative to smoking normal cigarettes. Getty Images / AFP

Call for ban on e-cigarettes to be lifted



ABU DHABI // Health chiefs have been urged to lift a ban on e-cigarettes to help smokers to quit the habit.
The ban, combined with the low cost of cigarettes, was effectively promoting tobacco use, said Dr Konstantinos Farsalinos, a Greek cardiologist taking part in the World Conference on Tobacco or Health in Abu Dhabi.
Despite a worldwide trend of falling tobacco use, the number of smokers in the UAE is growing.
"It is a big problem. Not only is there on a ban on a product that is less harmful than smoking, but smoking is available everywhere at a relatively low cost," Dr Farsalinos said.
The Ministry of Health bans the sale of e-cigarettes because its experts are not convinced of their safety. The devices work by atomising a liquid solution of nicotine, glycol and glycerin, which the user inhales. The long-term effects on the lungs are not known.
Dr Farsalinos said: "I am not saying e-cigarettes are 100 per cent safe - they are not.
"But the toxic chemicals are a lot lower than in cigarettes.
"It is fair to ask why it is reasonable in the UAE to make cigarettes widely available and yet ban a product that has been proven to be a successful substitute.
"Trying to enforce restrictions on e-cigarettes is as good as promoting tobacco products."
Dr Farsalinos has been working on e-cigarette research since 2012 and studied the habits of 19,441 e-cigarette users who completed an online survey.
Most of the respondents were smokers who had tried e-cigarettes as a substitute to avoid the adverse effects of smoking.
Of those polled, 81 per cent said they had quit smoking completely since taking up e-cigarettes.
The research also found that nicotine replacement therapies had a less than 7 per cent sustained abstinence rate, and oral medication less than 20 per cent.
Dr Farsalinos insists they could save huge numbers of lives and a global fortune in healthcare costs associated with treating smoking-related diseases, including heart disease and at least 15 different cancers.
"E-cigarettes would be the biggest revolution in tobacco reduction here, if legalised," he said.
"It is the only product that not only provides nicotine but simulates smoking behaviour. It has the sensory stimulation and the visual effect of seeing vapour smoke.
"There is no combustion, and that is the key issue."
The rise in the number of smokers in the UAE has been attributed in part to the growing popularity of shisha.
Smoking shisha is said to be 72 times more toxic than cigarettes. Dr Feras Hawari, a Jordanian expert in related health conditions, said flavoured tobacco made shisha more appealing.
Dr Farsalinos said e-cigarette technology was already being used in shisha pipes to provide a less harmful alternative.
"You get the same experience but without the tobacco," he said.
"You can get a lot of flavours so it would work for that market."
However, he conceded that tere was a concern that children or non-smokers might be attracted to the market as new consumers of nicotine via e-cigarettes.
Public health researchers have called for a global ban on tobacco by 2040. Tobacco is predicted to cost the lives of one billion people this century, mostly from low-income and middle-income countries.
Writing in the UK medical journal The Lancet, previewing this week's Abu Dhabi conference, Prof Robert Beaglehole, from the University of Auckland, said: "The time has come for the world to acknowledge the unacceptability of the damage being done by the tobacco industry and work towards a world essentially free from the legal and illegal sale of tobacco products.
"A world where tobacco is out of sight, out of mind and out of fashion - yet not prohibited - is achievable in less than three decades but only with full commitment from governments, international agencies and civil society."
nwebster@thenational.ae
The smoking stats:
There are now more than 1 billion smokers in the world.
More than 300 million people use smokeless tobacco or other alternatives.
More than 5.8 trillion cigarettes were smoked last year.
Cigarette butts are the most commonly discarded item of waste - 766 million kilograms a year.
Increased consumption in China, where average consumption is 22 cigarettes a day, offsets declines in other countries.
Progress made in de-normalising smoking may be reversed by the increasing prevalence of e-cigarettes and other alternative tobacco products.
Tobacco is killing more than half and as many as two thirds of tobacco users.
In 2013, tobacco industry profits were US$44.1 billion (Dh162bn).
* The American Cancer Society and World Lung Association

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  1. Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
  2. Ovarian tissue surgically removed
  3. Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
  4. Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
  5. Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
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Guide to intelligent investing
Investing success often hinges on discipline and perspective. As markets fluctuate, remember these guiding principles:
  • Stay invested: Time in the market, not timing the market, is critical to long-term gains.
  • Rational thinking: Breathe and avoid emotional decision-making; let logic and planning guide your actions.
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German intelligence warnings
  • 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
  • 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
  • 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250 

Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution

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Name: ARDH Collective
Based: Dubai
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Sector: Sustainability
Total funding: Self funded
Number of employees: 4
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Pakistan World Cup squad

Sarfraz Ahmed (c), Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Abid Ali, Babar Azam, Haris Sohail, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Hafeez(subject to fitness), Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Junaid Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Hasnain      

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MO
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Date started: June 2016
Founders: Gregor Amon and Kevin Czok
Based: Dubai
Sector: Travel Tech
Size: 10 employees
Funding: $350,000 (Dh1.3 million)
Investors: five angel investors (undisclosed except for Amar Shubar)

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Founder: Areej Selmi
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Name: HyperSpace
 
Started: 2020
 
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
Sector: Entertainment 
 
Number of staff: 210 
 
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Hili 2: Unesco World Heritage site

The site is part of the Hili archaeological park in Al Ain. Excavations there have proved the existence of the earliest known agricultural communities in modern-day UAE. Some date to the Bronze Age but Hili 2 is an Iron Age site. The Iron Age witnessed the development of the falaj, a network of channels that funnelled water from natural springs in the area. Wells allowed settlements to be established, but falaj meant they could grow and thrive. Unesco, the UN's cultural body, awarded Al Ain's sites - including Hili 2 - world heritage status in 2011. Now the most recent dig at the site has revealed even more about the skilled people that lived and worked there.

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North Pole stats

Distance covered: 160km

Temperature: -40°C

Weight of equipment: 45kg

Altitude (metres above sea level): 0

Terrain: Ice rock

South Pole stats

Distance covered: 130km

Temperature: -50°C

Weight of equipment: 50kg

Altitude (metres above sea level): 3,300

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Pakistan Super League

Previous winners

2016 Islamabad United

2017 Peshawar Zalmi

2018 Islamabad United

2019 Quetta Gladiators

 

Most runs Kamran Akmal – 1,286

Most wickets Wahab Riaz –65

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Engine: 3.5-litre V6

Gearbox: Eight-speed automatic

Power: 298hp @ 6,600rpm

Torque: 356Nm @ 4,700rpm

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Director: Shankar 

Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram

Rating: 2/5

COMPANY PROFILE

Company: Bidzi

● Started: 2024

● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid

● Based: Dubai, UAE

● Industry: M&A

● Funding size: Bootstrapped

● No of employees: Nine

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Install an air filter in your home.

Close your windows and turn on the AC.

Shower or bath after being outside.

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David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East

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Date started: 2013

Founder/CEO: Othman Al Mandhari

Based: Muscat, Oman

Sector: Additive manufacturing, 3D printing technologies

Size: 15 full-time employees

Stage: Seed stage and seeking Series A round of financing 

Investors: Oman Technology Fund from 2017 to 2019, exited through an agreement with a new investor to secure new funding that it under negotiation right now. 

The%20Genius%20of%20Their%20Age
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Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea

Rating: 2.5/5

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Engine: 5.0-litre supercharged V8

Transmission: Eight-speed auto

Power: 575bhp

Torque: 700Nm

Price: Dh554,000

On sale: now

The specs

Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel

Power: 579hp

Torque: 859Nm

Transmission: Single-speed automatic

Price: From Dh825,900

On sale: Now