CAIRO: The new anti-smoking bill passed by parliament last week, though much-awaited by many, was received with disgruntlement by many others. The bill finally banned smoking for minors (citizens under the age of 18), indoor smoking, smoking in health and educational organizations, youth centers, legislative associations and any governmental authorities or clubs. According to a source at the Ministry of Health, "Anyone who breaks this law will have to pay a fine of LE 50 or 100. And any manager allowing employees to smoke will be fined a minimum of LE 1,000 or maximum of LE 50,000. The source added that if the price of a standard pack of cigarettes increases by 10 percent, this will affect the purchasing habits of smokers. They will go from buying about three a day to only one, which will without a doubt decrease the annual revenue of cigarette companies. However, Tobacco companies such as El Sharkeya Leldokhan refused to disclose their marketing campaigns to help maintain sales and to "improve the general image of cigarettes. A company spokesman who preferred to remain anonymous told The Daily Star Egypt that "at the current time, we aren't allowed to reveal anything regarding our plans for responding to this law to help maintain sales. Companies such as El Hennawy claim that they are still waiting for the Ministry of Finance's instructions as to how to proceed after this law is put into effect. But the Ministry of Finance could not be reached for comment at time of press. Today smokers of all ages, especially men, are against the law because they believe it infringes on their freedom of choice. "I would not give up something I love, even if it costs me my life, said one smoker. An under-age smoker added: "I will not pay the fine and I would rather spend the night in jail. If they wish to ban indoor smoking, let them, but at least give us the right to smoke somewhere else. But one hard-line anti-smoker believes the bill is long overdue. "It's about time the government started implementing this law. Why should passive smokers suffer from the hazardous decisions of others. This infringes on their own freedom of choice. Recent statistics show that 90 percent of lung cancer cases in Egypt are caused by smoking and that a long term tobacco user has a 50 percent chance of dying prematurely from smoking-related diseases. Medical research has found that for each 1,000 tons of tobacco produced, 1,000 people will eventually die. So by the years 2020 and 2030 tobacco is likely to be the leading cause of death and disability, killing more than 10 million people annually.
