A war on nicotine could transform society's fight against cancer, heart disease and ill-health.
Medical experts said plans in the US and New Zealand to slash the amount of nicotine in cigarettes could save millions of lives.
US President Joe Biden's administration is reported to be planning an assault on the tobacco industry, just days after Jacinda Ardern's government in New Zealand set out plans to make cigarettes so weak they are no longer addictive.
Reducing the amount of nicotine in cigarettes would push more smokers towards less harmful alternatives and improve public health, doctors said.
Recent government proposals in the US would lower nicotine levels in all cigarettes sold in the country. This could reduce the number of people addicted to tobacco, a report said.
Cigarettes are responsible for around 480,000 deaths every year in the US. In the UAE, around 13 per cent of all annual fatalities are linked to smoking.
It is no secret many still struggle with quitting and will likely keep smoking cigarettes, mentholated or not
Reports from the US suggest Mr Biden is considering requiring tobacco companies to cut nicotine to below addictive levels to encourage more people to quit.
“Reducing nicotine levels would reduce the addictive potential of tobacco, so we could expect the number of cigarettes consumed would also decrease,” said Dr Arun Warrier, an oncologist at Aster Hospital in Al Mankhool, Dubai.
“It would definitely help lower the incidence of respiratory and cardiac diseases, and also cancers which result from cigarette smoking.”
Reducing cigarette and tobacco consumption is a key performance indicator of the UAE National Agenda.
It aims to reduce tobacco consumption from 21.6 per cent to 15.7 per cent among men and from 1.9 per cent to 1.66 per cent in women by the end of the year.
A ban on menthol cigarettes has also been mooted by the US administration, as they are cited as a gateway to stronger cigarettes among young people, a claim strongly denied by the tobacco industry.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) concluded in 2013 that minty cigarettes were harder to quit and posed a greater health risk than regular cigarettes.
“Menthol can make cigarettes more attractive to younger people,” said Dr Warrier.
“They may feel they are similar to chewing gum, but they expose users to harmful chemicals which can have a serious health impact.”
A drive to reduce smoking in the UAE
By 2025, it is estimated there will be around one billion smokers worldwide.
The UAE’s National Tobacco Control Committee involves 12 government entities to draft tobacco control-related legislations and regulations, along with a database about tobacco use, its products and trade.
Since 2010, the Ministry of Health and Prevention said the number of smokers in the country fell 18 per cent between 2010 and 2018, while a network of 16 cessation clinics has been established.
Although highly addictive, nicotine is not the primary cause of smoking-related diseases; carbon monoxide, a gas formed in cigarette smoke, has been identified as a leading cause of cardiovascular disease.
Dr Ragab Allam, a specialist in cardiovascular disease at Bareen International Hospital in Abu Dubai's Mohammed bin Zayed City, called for more nicotine research before a similar policy is adopted in the UAE.
“There is no guarantee this kind of measure is 100 per cent effective [in reducing smoking harm],” he said.
“Low-dose cigarettes and e-cigarettes are already available on the market and they should be encouraged.”
A survey by Euromonitor found regional smokers were reluctant to use e-cigarettes as a quitting aid, with just 1.8 per cent turning to vaping in 2020.
That could change if nicotine levels are lowered in conventional cigarettes and smokers are encouraged to use less harmful alternatives.
Vaping as a substitute to smoking
According to medical journal Science, vaping nicotine is set to replace smoking over the next 10 years, and could help to prevent 1.6 million premature deaths worldwide.
RELX International, Asia's leading e-cigarette brand which just launched in the UAE, encourages strict social responsibility and youth prevention policies to deter young people from using e-cigarettes via its Guardian Programme.
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“Adult smokers should first and foremost be encouraged to quit tobacco and nicotine use altogether,” said Robert Naouss, external affairs director at RELX for the Mena region.
“It is no secret, however, that many still struggle with quitting and will likely keep smoking cigarettes, mentholated or not.”
Tobacco harm reduction policies have already been embraced in New Zealand and the UK.
Similar plans to reduce nicotine levels in cigarettes have already been proposed in New Zealand, where legislators suggest the legal smoking age should gradually increase, eventually outlawing cigarettes for anyone born after January 1, 2004. The nation aims to be smoke-free by 2025.
In the UK, some 70,000 smokers switched cigarettes for less-harmful vaping following encouragement from health authorities.
In September, Dubai World Trade Centre will host a huge vaping expo.
The World Vape Show will be staged from September 19 to 21 and will showcase the latest products from leading international manufacturers.
Organisers said the UAE is perfectly placed to become a regional hub for the growing e-cigarette market, just two years on from regulation changes allowing products to be legally sold over the counter for the first time.
“With favourable business rates and a number of free zones, this may encourage more manufacturers and distributors to start production and distribution from the UAE,” said event manager Jake Nixon, of Quartz Business Media.
“As more people are already turning to smoking alternatives, this development could definitely increase the trend.”
Match info:
Wolves 1
Boly (57')
Manchester City 1
Laporte (69')
Director: Shady Ali
Cast: Boumi Fouad , Mohamed Tharout and Hisham Ismael
Rating: 3/5
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 611bhp
Torque: 620Nm
Transmission: seven-speed automatic
Price: upon application
On sale: now
COMPANY PROFILE
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
How they line up for Sunday's Australian Grand Prix
1 Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
2 Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari
3 Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari
4 Max Verstappen, Red Bull
5 Kevin Magnussen, Haas
6 Romain Grosjean, Haas
7 Nico Hulkenberg, Renault
*8 Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull
9 Carlos Sainz, Renault
10 Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes
11 Fernando Alonso, McLaren
12 Stoffel Vandoorne, McLaren
13 Sergio Perez, Force India
14 Lance Stroll, Williams
15 Esteban Ocon, Force India
16 Brendon Hartley, Toro Rosso
17 Marcus Ericsson, Sauber
18 Charles Leclerc, Sauber
19 Sergey Sirotkin, Williams
20 Pierre Gasly, Toro Rosso
* Daniel Ricciardo qualified fifth but had a three-place grid penalty for speeding in red flag conditions during practice
Grand Slam Los Angeles results
Men:
56kg – Jorge Nakamura
62kg – Joao Gabriel de Sousa
69kg – Gianni Grippo
77kg – Caio Soares
85kg – Manuel Ribamar
94kg – Gustavo Batista
110kg – Erberth Santos
Women:
49kg – Mayssa Bastos
55kg – Nathalie Ribeiro
62kg – Gabrielle McComb
70kg – Thamara Silva
90kg – Gabrieli Pessanha
IF YOU GO
The flights: FlyDubai offers direct flights to Catania Airport from Dubai International Terminal 2 daily with return fares starting from Dh1,895.
The details: Access to the 2,900-metre elevation point at Mount Etna by cable car and 4x4 transport vehicle cost around €57.50 (Dh248) per adult. Entry into Teatro Greco costs €10 (Dh43). For more go to www.visitsicily.info
Where to stay: Hilton Giardini Naxos offers beachfront access and accessible to Taormina and Mount Etna. Rooms start from around €130 (Dh561) per night, including taxes.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
F1 drivers' standings
1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes 281
2. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari 247
3. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes 222
4. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull 177
5. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari 138
6. Max Verstappen, Red Bull 93
7. Sergio Perez, Force India 86
8. Esteban Ocon, Force India 56
Breaking News: The Remaking of Journalism and Why It Matters Now
Alan Rushbridger, Canongate
Fight card
- Aliu Bamidele Lasisi (Nigeria) beat Artid Vamrungauea (Thailand) POINTS
- Julaidah Abdulfatah (Saudi Arabia) beat Martin Kabrhel (Czech Rep) POINTS
- Kem Ljungquist (Denmark) beat Mourad Omar (Egypt) TKO
- Michael Lawal (UK) beat Tamas Kozma (Hungary) KO
- Zuhayr Al Qahtani (Saudi Arabia) beat Mohammed Mahmoud (UK) POINTS
- Darren Surtees (UK) beat Kane Baker (UK) KO
- Chris Eubank Jr (UK) beat JJ McDonagh (Ireland) TKO
- Callum Smith (UK) beat George Groves (UK) KO
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
SPECS
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Play-off fixtures
Two-legged ties to be played November 9-11 and November 12-14
- Northern Ireland v Switzerland
- Croatia v Greece
- Denmark v Ireland
- Sweden v Italy
Results
ATP Dubai Championships on Monday (x indicates seed):
First round
Roger Federer (SUI x2) bt Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER) 6-4, 3-6, 6-1
Fernando Verdasco (ESP) bt Thomas Fabbiano (ITA) 3-6, 6-3, 6-2
Marton Fucsovics (HUN) bt Damir Dzumhur (BIH) 6-1, 7-6 (7/5)
Nikoloz Basilashvili (GEO) bt Karen Khachanov (RUS x4) 6-4, 6-1
Jan-Lennard Struff (GER) bt Milos Raonic (CAN x7) 6-4, 5-7, 6-4
Sheikh Zayed's poem
When it is unveiled at Abu Dhabi Art, the Standing Tall exhibition will appear as an interplay of poetry and art. The 100 scarves are 100 fragments surrounding five, figurative, female sculptures, and both sculptures and scarves are hand-embroidered by a group of refugee women artisans, who used the Palestinian cross-stitch embroidery art of tatreez. Fragments of Sheikh Zayed’s poem Your Love is Ruling My Heart, written in Arabic as a love poem to his nation, are embroidered onto both the sculptures and the scarves. Here is the English translation.
Your love is ruling over my heart
Your love is ruling over my heart, even a mountain can’t bear all of it
Woe for my heart of such a love, if it befell it and made it its home
You came on me like a gleaming sun, you are the cure for my soul of its sickness
Be lenient on me, oh tender one, and have mercy on who because of you is in ruins
You are like the Ajeed Al-reem [leader of the gazelle herd] for my country, the source of all of its knowledge
You waddle even when you stand still, with feet white like the blooming of the dates of the palm
Oh, who wishes to deprive me of sleep, the night has ended and I still have not seen you
You are the cure for my sickness and my support, you dried my throat up let me go and damp it
Help me, oh children of mine, for in his love my life will pass me by.
Our legal advisor
Ahmad El Sayed is Senior Associate at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.
Experience: Commercial litigator who has assisted clients with overseas judgments before UAE courts. His specialties are cases related to banking, real estate, shareholder disputes, company liquidations and criminal matters as well as employment related litigation.
Education: Sagesse University, Beirut, Lebanon, in 2005.
Match info
Manchester City 3 (Jesus 22', 50', Sterling 69')
Everton 1 (Calvert-Lewin 65')
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Roll%20of%20Honour%2C%20men%E2%80%99s%20domestic%20rugby%20season
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