In the present era of 21 century, the world is taking a pledge to minimize the use of tobacco. Harms caused by it are not new to know. Smoking is completely banned in many public places and workplaces such as healthcare, educational, and government facilities and on public transport. The law, however, permits the establishment of smoking areas or spaces in airports, hotels having 30 or more rooms, and restaurants having a seating capacity for 30 or more. Concerning outdoor places, open auditoriums, stadiums, railway stations, bus stops/stands are smoke-free. Sub-national jurisdictions may enact smoke-free laws that are more stringent than the national law.

Tax Rate in U.A.E

The UAE government imposes a 100 percent excise tax on tobacco products. The reason behind imposing such a big amount is to reduce consumption of unhealthy and harmful commodities while also raising revenues for the government that can be spent on beneficial public services. Along with this, a great step is initiated Under UAE Federal Law No. 15 on Tobacco Control, which prohibits not only in public areas but inside a private vehicle while a child under 12 years of age is present in UAE.

UAE Government demonstrated excellent efforts by raising the cost of smoking through taxation, mounting sustained social marketing campaigns, and ensuring that health professionals routinely advise smokers to stop smoking accompanied by behavioral and pharmacological support for cessation. Hence, future research should be more focused on evaluating the outcome and impact of current anti-smoking campaigns.

Tobacco smoking contributes to major health issues across the globe as well as in U.A.E. A national agenda by the UAE established for the health system includes 10 specific goals to be achieved by 2021, five of them are related to non-communicable diseases: tackling CVD, cancer, diabetes, obesity, and smoking. UAE Government demonstrated excellent efforts by raising the cost of smoking through taxation, mounting sustained social marketing campaigns, and ensuring that health professionals routinely advise smokers to stop smoking accompanied by behavioral and pharmacological support for cessation. Hence, future research should be more focused on evaluating the outcome and impact of current anti-smoking campaigns.

Controlling the use of tobacco is a foremost public health concern, particularly in developing nations. Healthcare professionals hold an opportunity and the means to help reduce the prevalence of smoking as well as encourage smokers to quit smoking through cessation and prevention intervention. Short-term counseling related to health problems is associated with cigarette and tobacco use while the importance of quitting is one of the most useful behavioral interventions that can be used to help smokers quit. Globally, healthcare professionals lack the training to counsel individuals and do not offer effective treatment and counseling to the people. Healthcare providers in the UAE have reinforced smoking as a major health priority, supported anti-tobacco policies, modeled good health, and offered clinical interventions to individuals who smoke.

Counseling Practices

The study conducted in Dubai indicates that the young age population is of specific interest because these are the most effective groups for targeting smoking prevention programs. The study, therefore, assessed the delivery of smoking-related preventive counseling in the young Arab population and examined counseling behaviors and barriers to counseling. Barriers to counseling involved lack of patient educational materials, lack of time, and lack of community resources. Another cross-sectional mail survey was undertaken in a random sample of general practitioners (GPs) in Sharjah, Dubai, and Abu Dhabi to document cessation-counseling practices. Despite favorable attitudes and beliefs regarding cessation counseling, only 47% of GPs stated that they hold adequate skills to benefit and support patients to quit smoking.

Current smoking prevalence from the studies reviewed varied widely. Even though the tobacco smoking prevalence in the UAE is less than in many other Middle Eastern countries, it is a prevalent habit among young individuals and can inevitably lead to a rise in the smoking-associated community. Continuous efforts and excellent accomplishments at the country level in the areas of lawmaking, funding, prevention and control, health education programs, and surveillance have been made to curb this increasing problem. The general population is also provided with education about the harmful effects of smoking. The previous evidence also suggests that mass media campaigns can have a significant impact on reducing smoking initiation in the young population and adults. Increasing the price of tobacco in UAE is also well supported by the literature. Future research should be focused on evaluating the outcome and impact of current anti-smoking campaigns initiated in the UAE and assessing its integration in the comprehensive tobacco control program