DUBAI // The price of cigarettes in Dubai will double from about Dh8 to Dh16, starting in August.
The increase will be in the form of a tax applied by Dubai Municipality.
The move is aimed at making it difficult for young people to buy cigarettes, said Wedad Al Maidoor, head of tobacco control at the Ministry of Health.
"This is great news," she said. "It will make the UAE a pioneer in the region, and others will be motivated to follow. Kids will not be able to afford it because it'll be too expensive."
Qadi Al Murooshid, director general of Dubai Health Authority, also welcomed the price increase. "We are very happy with this step and pleased with this move to protect our environment," he said.
Figures from the authority suggest 17 per cent of Dubai residents are smokers, with men five times more likely than women to smoke, and about 11 per cent of young people smoke cigarettes.
The average cost of a pack of cigarettes in a grocery is Dh8, of which Dh4 is tax. Petrol stations charge a dirham more. Even doubled, the new price will be considerably lower than in the UK, where cigarettes retail for the equivalent of about Dh42.
The UAE imposes a 100 per cent customs tax on all imported tobacco products, but the amount is so small that consumers barely notice it, Dr Al Maidoor said.
Health officials have been working with the Ministry of Finance since 2010 to put an additional 100 per cent federal tax on tobacco, but no action has yet been taken.
"If the tax is implemented, a portion of it would be used for combating tobacco, including educational initiatives and the treatment of chronic diseases such as lung cancer," Dr Al Maidoor said.
"But it's a very difficult and complicated process as each emirate has its own customs port and wants to apply its own requirements."
A bylaw proposed by the health ministry in 2010, which would ban indoor smoking throughout the country and require stores to apply for a licence to sell tobacco products, would raise prices even further, Dr Al Maidoor said.
"An additional tax would be charged to the retailer, and therefore the store would be required to increase the price," she said. "This would bring us even closer to prices in the US or the UK."
Most smokers said yesterday the price increase would cause them to smoke less, but it would not motivate them to give up.
"I will not quit, but I won't smoke as frequently," said Daniel Chaalan, 25, a business owner from Syria. "But this is a great move for school children who have a very low income."
Hassan Khaleel, 29, an IT consultant, said an increase in price would cause him to smoke less but he would "cherish the moment" he has with every cigarette.
"Actually it would make me feel more special," he said. "I would value the cigarette more, enjoy it and try to smoke it at just the right time."
Others said they would find a way around the high prices.
"It simply means I'll have to buy more cigarettes from duty free at the airport, or economy packs from other emirates," said Mohammed Ali, 29, a Palestinian. "To truly make a difference, this would have to be applied countrywide."
Health experts nevertheless praised the price increase as an important step to combat smoking, which is the main risk factor for heart disease, the leading cause of death in the UAE and worldwide.
"There are two important factors to reduce smoking," said Professor Sydney Smith, president of the World Heart Federation. "One is the prevention of second-hand smoking, and the other is taxation. In this part of the world, people start smoking as early as 11 or 12, not 18 or 19, so taxation has great potential here."
Combined efforts in the US have helped to reduce the smoking rate among adults from 30 to 20 per cent. According to last year's G20 report by Bill Gates, a tobacco tax of 10 cents in high-income countries, six cents a pack in middle-income countries and two cents a pack in low-income countries could result in a revenue of US$10.8 billion (Dh39.7bn) a year.
"This is phenomenal, if we could raise that money and get going," Prof Smith said. "It's one of the really easy things we can do. And to do nothing, really, is to allow something bad to happen."
mismail@thenational.ae
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
Sreesanth's India bowling career
Tests 27, Wickets 87, Average 37.59, Best 5-40
ODIs 53, Wickets 75, Average 33.44, Best 6-55
T20Is 10, Wickets 7, Average 41.14, Best 2-12
If you go
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct to Nairobi, with fares starting from Dh1,695. The resort can be reached from Nairobi via a 35-minute flight from Wilson Airport or Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, or by road, which takes at least three hours.
The rooms
Rooms at Fairmont Mount Kenya range from Dh1,870 per night for a deluxe room to Dh11,000 per night for the William Holden Cottage.
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7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
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8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
How to help
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
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The specs: 2018 Jeep Compass
Price, base: Dh100,000 (estimate)
Engine: 2.4L four-cylinder
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Power: 184bhp at 6,400rpm
Torque: 237Nm at 3,900rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 9.4L / 100km
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Juvenile arthritis
Along with doctors, families and teachers can help pick up cases of arthritis in children.
Most types of childhood arthritis are known as juvenile idiopathic arthritis. JIA causes pain and inflammation in one or more joints for at least six weeks.
Dr Betina Rogalski said "The younger the child the more difficult it into pick up the symptoms. If the child is small, it may just be a bit grumpy or pull its leg a way or not feel like walking,” she said.
According to The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases in US, the most common symptoms of juvenile arthritis are joint swelling, pain, and stiffness that doesn’t go away. Usually it affects the knees, hands, and feet, and it’s worse in the morning or after a nap.
Limping in the morning because of a stiff knee, excessive clumsiness, having a high fever and skin rash are other symptoms. Children may also have swelling in lymph nodes in the neck and other parts of the body.
Arthritis in children can cause eye inflammation and growth problems and can cause bones and joints to grow unevenly.
In the UK, about 15,000 children and young people are affected by arthritis.
UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
Anghami
Started: December 2011
Co-founders: Elie Habib, Eddy Maroun
Based: Beirut and Dubai
Sector: Entertainment
Size: 85 employees
Stage: Series C
Investors: MEVP, du, Mobily, MBC, Samena Capital
Results
4pm: Maiden (Dirt) Dh165,000 1,600m
Winner: Moshaher, Pat Dobbs (jockey), Doug Watson (trainer).
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5.10pm: Maiden (Turf) Dh165,000 1,600m
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5.45pm: Handicap (D) Dh190,000 1,200m
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6.20pm: Handicap (T) Dh190,000 1,600m
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6.55pm: Handicap (D) Dh190,000 1,400m
Winner: Bochart, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
7.30pm: Handicap (T) Dh190,000 2,000m
Winner: Rio Tigre, Mickael Barzalona, Sandeep Jadhav.
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Day 1, Abu Dhabi Test: At a glance
Moment of the day Dimuth Karunaratne had batted with plenty of pluck, and no little skill, in getting to within seven runs of a first-day century. Then, while he ran what he thought was a comfortable single to mid-on, his batting partner Dinesh Chandimal opted to stay at home. The opener was run out by the length of the pitch.
Stat of the day - 1 One six was hit on Day 1. The boundary was only breached 18 times in total over the course of the 90 overs. When it did arrive, the lone six was a thing of beauty, as Niroshan Dickwella effortlessly clipped Mohammed Amir over the square-leg boundary.
The verdict Three wickets down at lunch, on a featherbed wicket having won the toss, and Sri Lanka’s fragile confidence must have been waning. Then Karunaratne and Chandimal's alliance of precisely 100 gave them a foothold in the match. Dickwella’s free-spirited strokeplay meant the Sri Lankans were handily placed at 227 for four at the close.
The specs: 2018 Opel Mokka X
Price, as tested: Dh84,000
Engine: 1.4L, four-cylinder turbo
Transmission: Six-speed auto
Power: 142hp at 4,900rpm
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Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L / 100km
Starring: Jamie Foxx, Angela Bassett, Tina Fey
Directed by: Pete Doctor
Rating: 4 stars
The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre supercharged V8
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What is Folia?
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal's new plant-based menu will launch at Four Seasons hotels in Dubai this November. A desire to cater to people looking for clean, healthy meals beyond green salad is what inspired Prince Khaled and American celebrity chef Matthew Kenney to create Folia. The word means "from the leaves" in Latin, and the exclusive menu offers fine plant-based cuisine across Four Seasons properties in Los Angeles, Bahrain and, soon, Dubai.
Kenney specialises in vegan cuisine and is the founder of Plant Food Wine and 20 other restaurants worldwide. "I’ve always appreciated Matthew’s work," says the Saudi royal. "He has a singular culinary talent and his approach to plant-based dining is prescient and unrivalled. I was a fan of his long before we established our professional relationship."
Folia first launched at The Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills in July 2018. It is available at the poolside Cabana Restaurant and for in-room dining across the property, as well as in its private event space. The food is vibrant and colourful, full of fresh dishes such as the hearts of palm ceviche with California fruit, vegetables and edible flowers; green hearb tacos filled with roasted squash and king oyster barbacoa; and a savoury coconut cream pie with macadamia crust.
In March 2019, the Folia menu reached Gulf shores, as it was introduced at the Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay, where it is served at the Bay View Lounge. Next, on Tuesday, November 1 – also known as World Vegan Day – it will come to the UAE, to the Four Seasons Resort Dubai at Jumeirah Beach and the Four Seasons DIFC, both properties Prince Khaled has spent "considerable time at and love".
There are also plans to take Folia to several more locations throughout the Middle East and Europe.
While health-conscious diners will be attracted to the concept, Prince Khaled is careful to stress Folia is "not meant for a specific subset of customers. It is meant for everyone who wants a culinary experience without the negative impact that eating out so often comes with."
THE SPECS
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Transmission: 8-speed automatic
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