Egypt to Monitor Tobacco Industry

Egypt has created an observatory to monitor tobacco companies—the first of its kind in the Middle East, reports Al-Monitor. Among other things, the observatory will keep track of the industry’s promotional spending and interactions with the scientific community.

Critics have accused the tobacco industry of paying scientists to claim that smoking protects against Covid-19.  

A 2019 study by the Cairo Center for Economic Studies and Alastaratejah showed that Egypt was among the top 10 countries in terms of tobacco consumption. According to the statistics, Egyptians consumed 83 billion cigarettes worth EGP73 billion ($4.6 billion) in 2017-2018. During the same period, consumption of hookah tobacco reached 50,000 tons, or EGP3 billion.

Tobacco, alcohol and drugs account for a quarter of Egyptian households’ spending, according to the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics. An estimated 171,000 Egyptians die annually due to smoking-related diseases.

Through its stake in Eastern Co., The Egyptian government is the largest operator in the domestic tobacco industry.