Saudi Arabia - More than 500 pilgrims quit smoking during the current Haj season..

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November 23, 2010 - Makkah (Mecca) and Madinah (Medina have both been declared no-smoking zones by the Ministry of Health and shops there are prohibited from selling cigarettes. During the current Haj season, the ministry intensified its campaign on making the holy cities completely tobacco-free. The ministry has set up six anti-smoking clinics in Makkah as part of the campaign. The clinics are open to male and female smokers and services are offered free of charge.

November 4, 2010 - Saudi Arabia - Haj pilgrims flock to the Kingdom, anti-smoking effort intensified this year..; September 11, 2010 - Saudi Arabia - smokers give up smoking prior to entering smoke-free holy cities of Mecca and Medina..;
November 5, 2009 - Hajj (Pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina) - possible healthier environment this year..

More than 500 pilgrims quit smoking during the current Haj season thanks to the efforts of a voluntary anti-smoking society called, Kafa (Enough).

Hundreds of pilgrims of various nationalities visited Kafa’s mobile clinic, the largest of its kind, stationed closed to the Grand Mosque, said Ibrahim Al-Hamda, the society’s director.

“The clinic cost an estimated SR1 million. It is located in a large bus, equipped with all the required medical instruments and facilities needed for smokers to quit. There are two sections in the clinic. The first is for receiving pilgrims who want treatment to quit,” he said.

He added that the clinic can provide treatment to four people at a time while another four people wait in the waiting area.

“The clinic has been implementing a special program for Haj targeting pilgrims who smoke. We started implementing the program in two phases from the beginning of Dul Hijjah. The first phase is focused on implementing field awareness programs around the courtyards of the Grand Mosque,” he said.

Reference: Enough! No more smoking by BADEA ABU AL-NAJA, ARAB NEWS, 11/20/2010.

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