Dubai: As per the reports, Nationals and ex-pats in Kuwait spent KD43.7 million (Dh529.43 million) on tobacco products, only during the initial nine months of 2021.

According to some official statistics of three months, they reported that people actually spent Dh142.60 million just on the packet of tobacco. The data they reported is based on January to March, and from April to June, they spent Dh181.73 million and Dh205.96 million from July to the end of September.

Exports of tobacco products were near Dh13.70 million in the initial months of 2021.

The financial cost of smoking in Kuwait amounts to Dh278.9 million, including the price linked with healthcare expenditures and some indirect costs related to productivity lost due to early mortality and morbidity.

According to reports, tobacco is dangerous for health, and it harms the health, the treasury, and the spirit of Kuwait. Each year, more than 1700 people lose their lives due to diseases caused by tobacco consumption. Still, up to 4,000 children aged 10-14 and 4,70,000 adults who are more than 15 and more than that consume tobacco each day, as per the report.

As per the study of the National Library of Medicine, the purpose of smoking among Kuwaiti adults males and to study the differentials in smoking initiation about factors such as age-cohort, marital status, educational level, income, type of residence, etc. and history of smoking among family members and friends.

However, smoking cigarettes and shisha will now be punishable by law in most public places. Kuwait has issued a religious decree prohibiting all forms of smoking in most public places, including cafes, hotels, markets, restaurants and malls.

The legal age in Kuwait to consume tobacco is 21, and in Kyrgyzstan, it’s 18, and in Lebanon, it is 18 and selling tobacco products to someone who comes under 18. It’s also illegal for someone else to purchase them for you if you are under 18.