Jordan Smoking Rate 42%: Experts Strongly Demand Restrictions on E-Cigarette Advertising

On June 14, Jordanian health department official GhaithOwies indicated that about 9,500 people die in Jordan every year due to smoking, according to a Jordan Times media report. He also stressed the importance of controlling the spread of e-cigarette ads on social media platforms.

 

Owies described the smoking problem in Jordan as an “epidemic” that costs the economy about 160 million Jordanian dinars ($1.6 billion) a year. According to current statistics, 66 percent of males and 25 percent of children between the ages of 13 and 15 smoke in Jordan, and the overall smoking rate in Jordan is 42 percent.

 

Mohammad Hassan AlTarawneh, a smoking specialist, showed that the issue of smoking rates in Jordan is extremely worrying. He also stressed the importance of controlling the spread of tobacco advertising on social media platforms, especially in e-cigarette advertising.

 

This is because it violates Jordan’s Public Health Law, according to Article 54 of Public Health Law No. 47 of 2008:

 

“No person or public or private entity, which includes the media, shall print, display or publish any advertisement to promote any tobacco product or distribute any brochure, tool or material presenting its products.”

 

Talavini indicated that the promotion of e-cigarettes as a “smoking cessation aid” should be legally addressed because it is “false and misleading.

 

He also mentioned a new medical term to describe lung disease caused by e-cigarette use, known as “EVALI” (lung damage associated with e-cigarette or atomized product use). He explained that the disease is characterized by a variety of respiratory symptoms, including shortness of breath, coughing and chest pain.

 

According to the editorial, Jordan allows retail sales of e-cigarettes subject to restrictions such as notification, registration and licensing requirements; sales restrictions for application scenario locations; and minimum sales age.