Saudi Arabia: AL-TURIGEE: Half of Middle School Students are Smokers

Source from:  Saudi Gazette Online (sa)  02/19/2013

The figures on adolescent smoking released by the Welfare Society to Combat Smoking are alarming. The society estimated that about 53 percent of middle school students in the Eastern Province smoke while 27 percent of elementary school students and 20 percent high school students smoke. The relatively fewer number of high school students who smoke can be attributed to the fact that they are entering manhood. Teenagers commonly exhibit rebellious behavior to show that they are no longer boys but this changes as they enter manhood.
 
These frightening figures may cause many people to think that society and its institutions are ignoring adolescents but to be honest and objective, this thinking is incorrect. The Ministry of Health has provided facilities to treat smokers free of charge. There are also numerous welfare societies that combat smoking by offering smokers the treatment and support they need to kick the habit.

There are also laws which punish retailers that sell cigarettes to anyone under the age of 18. So why then, is the percentage of adolescents who smoke so high when society has done so much to help smokers kick the habit?
 
The problem is that after coming up with rules and regulations, we usually leave them on paper. We do not go out and apprehend those who violate the rules by selling cigarettes to children. The regulations do not clearly specify who is responsible for enforcing them. If a certain government department decides to take rules written on paper and implement them, it may find itself overwhelmed due to inadequate planning and will eventually be forced to scale back its efforts.

The government also depends on citizens to report retailers who sell cigarettes to underage people but when a complaint is filed, no action is taken. What society actually needs is a body whose function is to enforce rules and regulations on the ground. Until this happens, retailers will continue to sell cigarettes to the children of this country. Enditem