A new scientific study, published in the April issue of the Moroccan Health Journal, called on the current government to take a more active role in implementing effective tobacco control policies, in order to reduce diseases related to unhealthy habits.
The study, entitled “Tobacco Expenditures for Daily Smokers: Results of the Morocco Tobacco Investigation,” indicated that the document “provides evidence of the potential savings that Morocco can achieve through the implementation of an effective tobacco control policy against the strong physical and psychological addiction to smoking.”
The study was carried out by a team of Faculty of Medicine, Pharmacy, and Dentistry members in Fez, stating that “it is necessary to provide support to smokers who want to quit, and to provide cost-effective smoking cessation interventions.”
Based on a statistical analysis of the study, the group of researchers found that “people with a monthly income of less than MAD 1,000 spent 50.9% on tobacco, while people with a monthly income of MAD 6,000 or more spent 13% on cigarettes.”
The publication additionally found that “low-income families with a daily smoker spent an average of 50.9% of their household income on tobacco, presumably transferring much-needed money from food, shelter, fuel, and education.”
According to the study, which was supervised by Abdelilah Benslimane, Chakib Najjari, Mohamed Barhou, and Nabil Tashfouti, “reducing or eliminating these expenditures due to tobacco consumption is likely to have a negative impact on the well-being of individuals and their families, as well as on the economy as a whole.”
The document drew attention to the fact that “the effects of higher prevalence of tobacco use among men with lower educational levels and incomes strongly increase the relative risks of serious illness and premature death.”
“Policies and interventions to help smokers quit are an important part of national and international efforts to improve people’s health and well-being, and may improve social inequalities in health,” the experts stressed.
add your comment
Terms of publication : Not to offend the writer, people, sacred things, or attack religions or the divine self, and refrain from racist incitement and insults.