Saudi to launch no-smoking campaign for Haj

For thousands of Muslim smokers, Haj pilgrimage this year can be a great chance to quit the habit, if they take host Saudi Arabia’s initiative seriously to make the holy cities tobacco-free.

Saudi Arabia’s health ministry has chalked out a Tobacco Control Programme (TCP) that will launch a no-smoking campaign during Haj to ensure that the two holy cities — Mecca and Medina — and other ritual sites remain tobacco free. Out of about three million pilgrims expected from various countries including India for Haj this year, an estimated seven lakh will be smokers and the TCP has printed around 1.5 million leaflets in 14 languages for distribution among pilgrims including both smokers and non-smokers. Abdullah Mohammed Bidah, the supervisor-general of the TCP, said preparations are underway to educate pilgrims about the harmful effects of smoking and other uses of tobacco.

For a pilgrim who is addicted to smoking, Haj would be the ideal time to quit the habit, he said. “As part of our campaign we coined a slogan for this Haj — ‘Make Arafat Day, a Quit Smoking Day’.

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