Moroccan Ministry of Health alarms of smoking prevalence among minors

The Moroccan Ministry of Health announced today that the prevalence of smoking among adults aged 18 years or above is 13.4% in Morocco, while the percentage rises to 26.9% for men, and drops to 0.4% for women.

These statistics came on the occasion of World No Tobacco Day. The Ministry of Health launched a national campaign, from May 31 to June 21, 2022, aiming to raise awareness about the dangers of smoking, and promote advocacy around this problem, as well as raise awareness of the phenomenon’s impact on our environment.

During World No Tobacco Day, the Ministry raised the alarm about the prevalence of smoking among school children between the ages of 13 and 15, which reached 6%, emphasizing that about 35.6% of the population are exposed to passive smoking in public and professional places.

According to the results of the assessment conducted by the Ministry on the epidemiological and economic impact of smoking in Morocco for the year 2021, it was announced that tobacco was responsible for 74,000 cases of cardiovascular diseases in 2019, and an additional 4,227 annual cases of lung cancer. The number of premature deaths attributed to tobacco also reached 12,800.

Regarding the annual economic cost of tobacco in Morocco, the ministry confirmed that it exceeds MAD 5 billion, as it represents 8.5% of total health expenditures, and 0.45% of GDP.

The allocations of these resources spans direct medical costs (60.9%), mortality costs (33.0%) and disease-related loss of productivity (6.1%).

Al-Hassan Al-Baghdadi, head of the National Association for Combating Smoking and Drugs, said that six companies in Morocco are laying down dangerous plans for competition and expansion, based on age, gender, and geographical regions, speaking of what he called “a very dangerous and silent situation.”

Al-Baghdadi said, in a statement to Hespress, that “according to data provided by the World Health Organization (WHO), COVID-19 killed 5,300,000 people in three years, while smoking kills 8 million people annually without the slightest effort.”

The same speaker added: “Unfortunately, not a single effort is mentioned, even the law against smoking in public places has not been implemented nor enforced as it was supposed to be.”

Al-Baghdadi also explained that: “tobacco companies are mandated to put warning labels such as ‘smoking kills’ on their products, as a way to protect themselves” from their implication into possible sickness, induced by tobacco smoking.

The company’s “mere efforts” aims to avoid it being the subject of lawsuits from tobacco consumers. “It is a way to evade responsibility,” Al-Baghdadi said, adding that even “treatment centers are rare, as there are only 3 centers with 12 beds each, expected to treat 36 million Moroccans.”

In addition to lacking logistics and failing facilities, the activist says that even the methods used are not appropriate, with a percentage of only 16% proven success.

The spokesman also criticized the absence of the media’s role in raising awareness, alleging that some outlets even publish “veiled advertisements for smoking.”