Smoking Among the Youth in Saudi Arabia - Essay Example

Smoking Among the Youth in Saudi Arabia Introduction All over the world, smoking among the youth has grown in significant numbers. Saudi Arabia is no exception. The Saudi Gazette in a report in 2011, revealed that high school students make up 15 percent to 27 percent of smokers in Saudi[Ama11]. These figures are a cause for concern for both the parents of these children and the Saudi government. Smoking among the youth is a problem because at an early age they are already exposing themselves to the perils of smoking. In this regard, the aim of the current discourse is to propose that smoking should not at all be promoted to the youths in Saudi Arabia due to its damaging effects and the challenging endeavors that need to be entailed to get frequent smokers out of the habit. An Explanation and Evaluation of the Problem There are vast studies and researches that have been conducted to determine the comprehensive factors that led to the problem on a global scale. A quick search of the Google engine on statistic of smoking problem among youths in Saudi Arabia generated as much as 143 million results. Selecting some authoritative sources that recognize the existence of this social dilemma in Saudi Arabia, one noted a study that was conducted by Siddiqui, Ogbeide and Khalifa that focused on determining the predominant factors; as well as the higher preponderance for smoking of 634 male participants from 12 years old and above. Another study, conducted by Bassiony, delved into a review of related literature on the subject which specifically examined areas such as: “the epidemiology, consumption, trade, control, prevention, and treatment of tobacco smoking in Saudi Arabia” (876). From these studies, it was specifically determined that the problem of smoking among youths exist and its prevalence and increased preponderance have been noted in various studies where identified factors were noted, to wit: “students whose families had higher income, had larger daily allowances, spent less time studying, skipped class more frequently, were less religious, spent more time out of home, drank more Coca-Cola, intended to use tobacco in the next year, and were males who were more likely to use tobacco” [DEA12]. Cause of the Problem and Circumstance and Effect if No Action is Taken From the most prominent causes of smoking, it was revealed in the paper written by Mandil, BinSaeed, et al. that peer pressure or the apparent need to be perceived as doing what friends are doing, and the strong impact of family members seen to be smoking are most influential. Likewise, other causes of smoking include the lack of governmental restrictions that preclude the youths from easily purchasing cigarettes regardless of age and the apparently low prices of cigarettes [Sid01]. In the article written by Bassiony, the author disclosed the motivating factors and reasons for smoking, as follows: “desire (32%), idleness (28%), imitation (22%), and enjoyment (20%) are among the motives to smoke. Relief from psychological tension, boredom, and imitating others (especially friends, siblings, and parents) were the most important reasons for smoking” (879). If the problem goes unresolved, more youths and adults would be addicted to smoking due to its nicotine content and would find it challenging to get out of the habit. There are other repercussions that include increasing risks to contract health hazards such as high blood pressure, higher tendencies for heart attacks, contracting cancer of various organs in the body, especially the lungs, throat, voice box, pancreas and kidneys. Likewise, health hazards for females were reported to include fertility problems and cancer of the cervix. More importantly, cigarette smoking, if left unabated, is forecasted to result, within the next 20 to 30 years, to “10 million deaths annually on a worldwide basis, of which 70% will occur in developing countries” [Sid01]. Opponent’s Perspective on the Problem and Rebuttal Cigarette manufacturers and the government have persisted in allowing the continued production and sale of cigarettes despite the apparent danger and hazards that were noted due to economic benefits. This means that the government generates revenues by imposing taxes on cigarettes sold to the public. According to the Euromonitor International report that monitors tobacco sale and use in various countries all over the world, the current trend of tobacco use in Saudi Arabia is hereby cited: “Despite growing health concerns and legislative restrictions, tobacco in Saudi Arabia continued to see dynamic growth in 2010. Sales were largely driven by the growing younger population, various new product launches in every category and rising disposable incomes across the country” (Euromonitor International: Executive Summary par. 1 ). As such, the response of the government was actually to ban all production of tobacco in Saudi Arabia. The effect of the banning was not the restriction or total diminishing of consumption and sale of cigarettes. As the report indicated, most of the cigarettes that were sold and consumed in Saudi Arabia came from multinational corporations such as “Philip Morris International Inc. (which) held the lion’s share of volume sales in cigarettes; while Villiger Söhne AG was the leader in cigars; and Nakhla Tobacco Co. drove sales of pipe tobacco” (Euromonitor International: Executive Summary par. 3). Other moves that were instituted and implemented by health organizations, and academic institutions regarding warning the public on the dangers of smoking include using a form of reverse psychology to young children. Rather than preventing them to smoke, a current practice revealed by a United Kingdom school, the Tinshill Learning Centre in Leeds, actually promoted and allowed smoking between lessons to very young children, as early as 14 years of age (Dawar par 1). As disclosed, the strategy “is meant to help pupils stop smoking and reduce confrontations with teachers” (Dawar par 3). By not preventing these students, with ample warning of the hazards of smoking, they would eventually come to their senses and realize the negative effects smoking would do to their health. One firmly believes that there is some validity to the strategy, if other efforts to enhance the youth’s awareness on the damaging effects of smoking are likewise appropriately communicated. Otherwise, if the strategy was irresponsibly enforced without justification of its rationale, then, its implementation could potentially be more damaging as it invited students to expose themselves to the risk of addiction and the challenging endeavor to get out of the habit, if perpetuated without responsible monitoring. The Proposed Action The proposed course of action to address smoking in youths in Saudi Arabia is actually to address the root cause of the problem; which is to totally ban the sale of tobacco products so that when there are no cigarettes or tobacco products that are available in the market, no youths could have access to it and therefore, no health hazards, dangers, risks or preponderance to untimely deaths could occur. There is a need for adults to encourage youths to be immersed in other productive interests and be role models to relay the relevant message that smoking should not at all be tried or undertaken. Likewise, in conjunction with addressing the root cause of the problem, various academic, community, and government agencies must work collaborately towards emphasizing that the cost of smoking to society is greater than the economic benefits that tobacco manufacturers and the government generates from their sale. There is a possibility that the proposed solution has not been seriously taken as a way to ultimately address the problem due to the continued economic benefits gained from the sale of tobacco. As noted, most of the taxes generated from the sale were paid by multinational corporations. It is therefore likely that the government has forged alliances and trade agreements with these multinational corporations to provide these products in exchange for other products and services that are being marketed and produced by Saudi Arabia. Upon extensive evaluation, this solution is better than other proposed alternative courses of action such as promoting awareness programs or restricting the sale according to a pre-defined age group, and even increasing the prices of tobaccos because when the product is still available in the market, there are still greater chances that these could be purchased, at whatever cost. As noted, “Saudi Arabia remains a wealthy community which was largely spared from the effects of the global economic slowdown. Products that indicate wealth in general perform well in Saudi Arabia and cigars and premium cigarettes are no exception to this. Rising disposable incomes as well as knowledge have led to cigars and premium cigarettes seeing impressive growth. Expatriates also account for a significant proportion of cigar consumption in Saudi Arabia as cigar smoking remains a novel trend among the local population” (Euromonitor International: Executive Summary par. 2 ). Since raising the prices of cigarettes would not deter the population from buying it, the only way to logically prevent the public from smoking is a total and complete ban for all tobacco products. This means, deterring multinational corporations from exporting cigarettes and tobacco products; as well as creating policies and government regulations that would not encourage importing these products, at whatever cost. This is the most effective solution to the problem since by taking out the product, nothing would be consumed that could potentially endanger the health and lives of the people who get to try and be addicted to it. This solution would work especially when the government realizes that it would be more costly to support the health needs of the population who get to be afflicted with illnesses related to smoking; than sacricing the loss from the revenues that would be generated in allowing multinational corporations to sell their tobacco products in Saudi Arabia. It is a matter of cost-benefit analysis on a more comprehensive and long term basis. The audience or target market of these tobacco products would most definitely oppose the suggested recommendation of totally banning the sale and consumption of cigarettes in Saudi Arabia. Regular users of cigarettes would have extreme difficulties to get out of the habit and could be subjected to withdrawal symptoms and health concerns due to abruptly stopping tobacco sale. To counter these arguments, one could aver that there are health organizations and institutions which are capable of addressing these issues and the long-term benefits of ridding oneself of the by-products of smoking is greater than the temporary difficulties and challenges. Conclusion To reiterate, smoking should not at all be promoted to the youths in Saudi Arabia due to its damaging effects and the challenging endeavors that need to be entailed to get frequent smokers out of the habit. Rather than trying desperately to make the current programs that promoted smoking in a responsible manner and which are apparently ineffective, one proposes a total ban for selling tobacco products as the ultimate solution to smoking problems in Saudi Arabia. From the in-depth evaluation of its causes, effects, counterarguments and alternative courses of action, the only solution is not to make tobacco products available and accessible to the general population and to focus on more productive endeavors that promote good health and well-being of all the citizens on a much longer time through the future. Works Cited Ama11: , (Al-Sibai , par 3), DEA12: , (DE and HK 131), Sid01: , (Siddiqui, Ogbeide and Khalifa), Sid01: , (Siddiqui, Ogbeide and Khalifa 367), Read More