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"I don't want to quit smoking," said Romaneh, 42, who lights one Gauloise Light with another, inhaling deeply in between sips from a glass of thick Arabic coffee. "Smoking is a joy."
Like Romaneh in this West Bank Palestinian city, millions of Muslim smokers get on a nicotine roller coaster during Ramadan, which ends this year in late September. But health campaigners are increasingly trying to get them to quit altogether, using Ramadan as a springboard for anti-smoking drives.
A London mosque runs a "Stop smoking for Ramadan, stop smoking for life" appeal on its Web site, and a Saudi volunteer network is trying to bring that message to 10 million Arab Internet users. . . .
Clerics might be reluctant to issue a fatwa that forces Muslims to choose between faith and addiction.
"(Even) if you say 'haram,' people will keep smoking because they are addicted," said Imam B. Prasodjo, a sociologist in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, where almost two-thirds of men smoke. Prasodjo is trying to persuade Muslim leaders to at least impose a ban on cigarette advertising. . . .
Smoking is embedded in the culture of many Muslim countries. About 63 percent of men smoke in Jordan; 49 percent in Tunisia; 42 percent in Syria; 38 percent in the Palestinian territories and 28 percent each in Lebanon and Morocco. Few women smoke because of cultural taboos.
Cigarette packs in Egypt carry graphic images such as a dying man in an oxygen mask. In Jordan, billboards warn about the risks. In Lebanon, many restaurants have no-smoking zones.
But it remains a battle, even — and perhaps especially — during Ramadan.
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Tobacco deliveries last week maintained an upward trend with over 11,2 million kg worth US$20,5 million (about $2 trillion) going under the hammer.
According to figures released by the Tobacco Marketing Board (TIMB), about 7,2 million kg had been sold under the auction system as at June 7. Of this, about 3,6 million kg had been sold at the Tobacco Sales Floor by that date.
In Brief
Ticino's cantonal parliament is to vote on banning smoking in public places in the autumn. The purpose of this measure, supported by hoteliers' associations, is to combat passive smoking. Similar measures will come into force in Italy at the end of the year.
there is little doubt about the status of Mohammed Dahlan: He is a Palestinian prince in waiting.
At 42 -- a veteran of war, exile, Israeli jails and a long-running feud with Yasser Arafat -- Mr. Dahlan is fast emerging as the most powerful Palestinian of his generation. . . .
Though he's been officially unemployed since September, he is enjoying his time off. Once a four-pack-a-day man, he has quit smoking, coffee and even surrendered his beloved nargila water pipe, all "in one shot," he boasts. [This graph only]
Swept up in anti-American sentiment, Palestinians increasingly want the Marlboro man out of town.
Many smokers, especially young trendsetters, have switched to French-made Gauloises, which they say are similar in taste and a dollar a pack cheaper.
American cigarettes, particularly Marlboros, have been the main target of a boycott of U.S.-made products organized several months ago by Palestinian activists. The campaign has resonance among many Palestinians upset by what they see as Washington's one-sided support of Israel. . .
Marlboro had always been the most popular cigarette in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, favored especially by Palestinian men in their 20s and 30s as a status symbol; most Palestinian women don't smoke. . .
never before has an anti-American boycott succeeded.
At Yasser Arafat's compound, under Israeli siege for the 10th day, the two sides are bickering about cigarette rations and garbage removal – but they aren't talking to each other about ending the standoff. . .
Palestinians complain that Israelis have restricted the entry of coffee and cigarettes to a group accustomed to using both in abundance. It appears to be a tactic to make those inside jumpy.
The Israeli military spokesman's office refused to comment on the issue.
The army spokesman released a list Sunday of the food and equipment from the Palestinian Authority that it allowed into the compound. Listed were 47 different items, including . . . 20 brooms and dust pans -- and one carton of cigarettes for the 200 men in the office building. [This graph only]
In Ramallah, Abdel Salam Samreen, 12, was killed by several shots to the chest as he was walking on the street near his home.
The boy's mother, Wafiqa, said her husband had sent the boy to a nearby grocery to buy cigarettes. [This graph only]
Releasing the information to coincide with the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks in the United States, the Israeli government on Tuesday announced it had seized shipping containers headed for the Palestinian Authority with weapons and cigarette lighters depicting Osama bin Laden.
The containers, marked "toys," were found during a random customs check at Israel's port in Ashdod in June, according to a government statement. Instead of toys, the containers carried guns, air rifles, binoculars and cigarette lighters depicting bin Laden alongside the World Trade Center as airplanes slam into the towers, the statement said. . .
The lighter is ignited by flicking a switch near an American flag, and then a flame comes out of Bin Laden's head . . .
"The planned distribution of these lighters in the Palestinian Authority was designed to be yet another expression of support for the terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaida," the government statement said.
Unipal General Trading Co.'s Web site calls the company a ``fast moving goods distribution operation'' in the West Bank and Gaza Strip for products from Philip Morris Cos. and Procter & Gamble Co.
Fast isn't the word these days. During the worst Israeli- Palestinian violence in more than 30 years, Unipal has had at times to ship its cigarettes and diapers by donkey. The improvisation added two days to delivery time.
Inside the Basilica of the Church of the Nativity, the stench of 150 unwashed human bodies mingled with the reek of fecal matter. The halvah, cans of lentils, chocolate bars and Marlboro Lights had run out days before . . . He slept for a few hours during the morning in a corner of the basilica, then paced around the church through the night, chain-smoking L&Ms until his supply ran out.
A tense standoff between Israeli troops and Palestinian gunmen at the Church of the Nativity ended after 39 days Friday . . .
Israeli troops had periodically provided food to the clergymen inside, who then distributed it among the Palestinians. One priest, speaking on condition of anonymity, complained that the foreigners had desecrated the church by smoking and drinking alcohol. He said he was also upset by the trash in the compound. [This graph only]