Though a non-smoker himself, Ahmed el-Sewesi, the owner of a kiosk in northern Cairo, admits that the bulk of his earnings are generated from tobacco sales. “The fact that my kiosk is located near some governmental departments and private businesses makes it an attraction for smokers,” el-Sewesi, 57, says. “Most governmental employees smoke the locally made cigarette brands because they are cheaper than the foreign ones.” He adds that the increase in the prices of tobacco products, imposed by the Egyptian Government in May 2005 as part of a package of tax increases, has not discouraged smokers. “For many smokers in this country, a cigarette is a staple commodity by means of which they can vent their frustrations,” el-Sewesi says. “This addiction means brisk business for me,” he adds with a grin. According to a recent survey by the World Health Organisation (WHO), there are around 13 million smokers in Egypt. The habit costs an average Egyptian family 6 per cent of its monthly income ��" perhaps more than it spends on education and health, the same survey concludes. Around 85 billion cigarettes are smoked per year in this country of 80 million people. “I began smoking around 30 years ago, starting with cigarettes,” recalls Abdel-Halim Sobhi, a 65-year-old pensioner. “I smoked two packets of cigarettes a day for more than 20 years after which I switched to sheesha (water pipe), as I thought it was less harmful than cigarettes. However, I had to quit, not because of the Government's anti-smoking campaign, but because I developed laryngeal cancer.” In the late 1980s, the Egyptian Government prohibited smoking at all the stations and on all the trains of the Greater Cairo Underground system, a service that has been extended over recent years to crisscross this sprawling city. Offenders are punished by an on-the-spot fine of LE10 ($1.8). The ban is still in place, making the Tube one of very few public places where smoking is strictly prohibited and penalised. In June 2007, Egypt passed a law banning smoking in workplaces and at institutions like health centres, schools and social clubs. The law threatens violators and even employers with tough financial penalties. But a visit to many of these places reveals that the ban is merely ink on paper. “Egypt is still one of the cheapest countries when it comes to tobacco purchases,” Mushira Khattab, the Minister of State for Family and Population, said recently. “Cigarettes are available and affordable at shops and kiosks, even for children.” In theory, tobacco sales to underage smokers are prohibited under Egyptian law. But in practice, this ban is never observed. “Tobacco sellers do not ask their customers to show them their ID cards to prove how old they are,” remarked Minister Khattab. Around 439,000 children in Egypt under the age of 15 smoke, according to the Ministry of Health. Some 74,000 of them are under the age of 10. The WHO blames smoking for around 90 per cent of cancer cases in Egypt. Many sufferers of heart disease in the country are smokers too, says the WHO. More than two years ago, the Egyptian health authorities made it obligatory for tobacco manufacturers to print on packets of cigarettes an image of a sickly man attached to an artificial life-support system. The clear message was that smoking is dangerous to one's health. But soon the warning became a funny public issue as the man in the picture sued the authorities for ‘tampering' with his features without his consent. Last February, there was more furore when a new illustration was printed on tobacco products linking smoking to male impotency. The image was considered offensive in this conservative society. Egypt is a haven for smokers, say experts. “Despite the soaring cost of living, tobacco is still affordable here,” says Hazem el-Khudri, a cardiologist. “In addition, anti-smoking restrictions are rarely enforced,” he adds. “The constant increase in the numbers of coffee shops, especially in major [Egyptian] cities proves this.” Café owners admit that they do great business, particularly in the summer and the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan. “In the summer, people like to come to our air-conditioned coffee shop for a cold drink and a sheesha,” says Moustafa Hamad, a waiter at a café in central Cairo. “We serve sheesha with various tobacco flavours. In fact, our business peaks in the evenings during Ramadan, when men and women show up to smoke sheesha. They often stay until dawn,” he adds. In Ramadan, Muslims have to abstain from eating, drinking, smoking and having sex from dawn to dusk.
