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Ammon News - On the World No-Tobacco Day, HRH Princess Dina Mired launched Tuesday two guidelines for use by health inspectors at the Ministry of Health and the Amman Municipality to streamline control over the use and sale of tobacco and related products.

The two manuals outline the legal framework for the control process and lay out the steps that health inspectors must follow to guarantee that the inspection and control system is functioning properly.

Princess Dina said during a ceremony that 3.5 million hectares of land are lost each year for tobacco growing, resulting in deforestation, soil degradation, and the loss of water, fossil fuels, and minerals.

She noted that cigarette butts generate 1.69 billion pounds of toxic waste and unleash thousands of chemicals into the air, water, and land, calling for the full enforcement of the Public Health Law and assisting inspectors in protecting citizens from tobacco and its harmful effects.

Dr. Raed Shboul, Secretary-General of the Ministry of Health for Primary Health Care and Epidemiology, stated that Jordan is committed to fighting smoking, as indicated by its 2004 ratification of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

He promised that the Ministry of Health will continue to enforce the law and allocate smoke-free public spaces throughout the Kingdom, emphasizing that the ministry had taken a number of legal, educational, administrative, and control steps.

In turn, Dr. Jamila Al-Rabi, the World Health Organization's representative in Jordan, said that the Ministry of Health, the Greater Amman Municipality, and the WHO in Jordan made a significant effort to release the two guides in order to improve tobacco product inspection and control.

Al-Rabi cited a study on the number of smokers in Jordan undertaken by the Ministry of Health in collaboration with the organization, which found that 80 percent of adults in Jordan are exposed to passive smoking.

She also noted that the report revealed alarming statistics concerning Jordan's smoking issue, requiring an effective response to outlaw smoking in public areas.