People in the UAE will soon be able to buy only limited amounts of dokha, while all such products will have to carry graphic health warnings, according to a story in The Khaleej Times citing new standards approved by the National Tobacco Control Program under the Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP).
There was no mention in the story of what the limit would be and how sales would be policed. Dokha reportedly can be bought ‘anywhere’ at prices less than those of cigarettes.
Wikipedia describes dokha as a type of tobacco that is usually mixed with herbs and spices, and smoked in a Medwakh (pipe). Dokha is said to be Arabic for ‘dizziness’.
The new standards have been developed by the Emirates Metrology and Standardization Authority (ESMA) and approved by the ministry.
Graphic health warnings have been required on other tobacco-product packs since 2012.
“These regulations for dokha should be in place by the end of the year,” Dr Wedad Al Maidoor, director of the Primary Healthcare Center & National Program of Tobacco Control, told the Khaleej Times.
“These new standards are being put in place to control the unlimited use of dokha which is growing in popularity among the youth,” she said.
A draft of standards and specifications for electronic cigarettes is also ready with the ESMA but is still pending approval.
Results from a health screenings study carried out in Abu Dhabi in 2016 showed that almost 30 percent of Emiratis in their thirties smoked medwakh.
Dokha sales limited
