Smoke ban now in force

Smokers in Bahrain’s major shopping malls were asked to stub out their cigarettes for good last week when a complete ban on smoking came into effect, reports -RdS-.

Shoppers in Seef Mall Bahrain Mall, Marina Mall, Sitra Mall and Al Dana Mall are now prevented from smoking inside – although fines will not be introduced for at least six months.
The ban was introduced to coincide with last Thursday’s World No Tobacco Day and follows a recommendation earlier this month from the Ministry of Health. Sitra Mall became one of the first malls to ban smoking anywhere within its interior.
“We fully support the government’s initiative to ban smoking in malls,” said Waqas Al Dhawadi, manager. “Everyone is entitled to a smoke free environment when they’re shopping, especially in a mall like Sitra Mall where a lot of young families shop because of our extensive range of children’s shops.
“Around 24 per cent of Bahrainis are heavy smokers and as a family environment we need to ensure that our children are not being subjected to passive smoking.”
Mr Al Dhawadi said that feedback from customers so far had been positive about the ban. He added: “We will be surveying our customers continually to get their feedback on the no smoking policy.”
Boy scouts, sent by the ministry of health were on hand at Sitra Mall to inform customers about the new policy and to ask smokers to extinguish their cigarettes or go outside to smoke.
“They’ll be here for one month to distribute information brochures,” said Imran Abdul Haq, property manager at Sitra Mall, “they deal with the customers politely. We explain that we’re not policing them but educating them.
“At this stage we are not penalising people for smoking.”
Last week Health Minister Dr Nada Haffadh urged mall managers to take a soft approach towards those violating the ban for at least six months. She suggested a gradual process to make people aware of the new smoking rules.
However, health inspectors will soon be authorised to collect fines from violators. Smokers caught flouting the rules could be fined BD20 if caught smoking in closed outlets, while malls that fail to enforce the new measures could be fined BD500.    
Bahrain’s move towards smoke-free environments follows similar polices introduced by a number of other countries. Ireland became the first country in March 2004 to create smoke-free indoor workplaces and public spaces. Since then, New Zealand, Italy, Uruguay and most recently, the UK, have also introduced smoke-free laws.