Reuters
04/17/2005
By
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KABUL - Afghanistan’s western Herat province has banned smoking in all government buildings, becoming the first region in the country to join an international effort against smoking, government officials said on Sunday.

The move follows Afghanistan’s recent signing of a global convention of banning tobacco consumption in public, health officials said.

“The ban has been implemented in government buildings,” said Amin Haider a public health ministry official in Herat. ”Our next step is to enforce it in covered places or public areas such as restaurants,” Haider told Reuters.

Abdullah Fahim, adviser to the Public Health Ministry, told Reuters Afghanistan had yet to pass a law to enforce the ban nationwide.

“Once the law explaining what needs to be done with the violators, such as possible fining, is passed, then we will announce the ban across the country,” Fahim said.

In Herat, authorities were urging people through advertisements to stop smoking in public places and locals had largely welcomed the initiative, Haider said.

The majority of men smoke in male-dominated Afghanistan. Most smoke Western-style filter-tip cigarettes, the vast majority of which are counterfeits made in neighbouring countries.

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