ABU DHABI // Doctors are urging smokers to take advantage of Ramadan to give up the habit. They say it is perhaps the easiest time of the year to do so as believers are not allowed to smoke between sunrise and sunset during the holy month. "Ramadan provides people with the opportunity to reflect and focus on their actions and the impact they have on themselves and others," said Dr Mahmoud Marashi of Rashid Hospital in Dubai. "The holy month can be a particularly good time for people to quit smoking, but they need to resist the temptation to smoke after iftar."
It is common for Muslim smokers to chain-smoke after breaking the fast in the evening, to make up for the lack of smoking during the day. However, doctors say this can have serious medical consequences and is more unhealthy than regular smoking. "Smoking is an addiction and habit, and you have to treat both," said Dr Ahmed el Hakim, a doctor and director of external affairs and policy for Pfizer in the Middle East.
"When you have the same amount of cigarettes over long hours contained into a few hours, it's obviously more dangerous," he said. He also stressed that shisha, which is traditionally smoked during Ramadan, is more unhealthy than cigarettes. Cigarettes have been linked to 25 killer diseases, including cancer and heart disease, and studies have shown that smoking shortens people's lives by an average of 15 years.
However, giving up smoking does not make people feel better immediately because they suffer withdrawal symptoms such as irritability, anger, restlessness, impatience, insomnia and difficulty in concentrating. "Most tobacco users find it difficult to quit on their own and will benefit from support to overcome their addiction. We are encouraging smokers to seek advice from their family doctors," Dr Marashi said.
"Ninety-five per cent of smokers try to quit smoking but only five per cent succeed. It is very difficult to quit smoking and people go through several attempts," said Dr Hakim. "Counselling is not enough to quit smoking. Smoking cessation clinics in Abu Dhabi are successful because they introduced pharmaceutical products in conjunction with counselling to help people quit." A World Health Organisation report entitled the Global Tobacco Epidemic 2008 indicated that only five per cent of people in the world have access to government anti-smoking programmes.
Some 6,000 patients in the country have been treated in smoking cessation clinics at a cost of Dh2,600 (US$700) each. However, Dh400m is still spent annually on tobacco in the country. amcmeans@thenational.ae
