Saudis puff through 15 billion smokes a year

0 Comments | AFP, March, 2007

RIYADH (AFP) — Saudi Arabia has six million smokers -- including 600,000 women -- who puff their way through 15 billion cigarettes a year, a local newspaper reported on Monday.

And about 23,000 people die each year of smoking-relating diseases in the kingdom, one of the wealthiest countries on the planet, according to a survey published in the Arab News.

Abdullah al-Badah, supervisor of the health ministry's anti-smoking programme, said Saudi Arabia was ranked 23rd among cigarette consuming countries with annual per capita intake at 2,130.

In all, smokers in Saudi Arabia get through 40,000 tonnes of cigarettes worth more than 1.3 billion dollars, officials said, highlighting the high number of children and teenagers who take up the habit.

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