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Smoking in Iraq
Butt out, please
Aug 13th 2009 | BAGHDAD
From The Economist print edition
Imposing the mother of all cigarette bans
IT’S the health and safety measure Iraqis have not been waiting for. The
government in Baghdad last week banned smoking in public buildings.
Anyone found lighting up will have to pay a fine equivalent to $4,300,
enough to buy 17,200 packs of cigarettes at the local price of about 25
cents. “Do the politicians have nothing better to do?” asks Abu Yasser, as
he takes a drag while filling up his car at a petrol station. “My cousin was
recently murdered by terrorists, my neighbour was tortured by the police,
my electricity is cut for most of the day, the same is true in most hospitals
in the city. And they are worried about smoking?”
AP
As soon as parliament ratifies the cabinet-imposed ban, Iraqi smokers will
be forced to loiter on street corners exposed to car bombs and 45-degree
heat in the summer. But according to a recent study, smoking kills an
average of 55 Iraqis a day, compared to a current average of ten deaths
daily from terrorist shootings or bombings. So the government argues that
it is perfectly reasonable to outlaw smoking on public-health grounds.
Nonetheless, the ban has done nothing to improve the already low opinion
many Iraqis have of their democratically elected government. “Bring back
Saddam,” says a cigarette vendor. “We were free to smoke anywhere More lethal than terrorists
then.” Others link the ban to reports of torture in official detention.
“Prisons are public buildings, right? So will they now prevent guards from stubbing out cigarettes on the
arms, legs and backs of inmates?” asks one university student. With nerves jangled from years of
upheaval, nicotine is often the first and only comfort. Stuck at checkpoints, Iraqis pass around cigarettes.
Faced with recalcitrant bureaucrats, they do the same.
In parliament though, the ban is popular. Islamists want to get rid of tobacco outright. Of course, many
ministers and MPs smoke too, often in their offices. But, given their elevated positions, few rules apply to
them.
Copyright © 2009 The Economist Newspaper and The Economist Group. All rights reserved.
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