Attractive flavors and early addiction… Smoking is changing and the risks are renewed

Smoking has gone beyond the traditional cigarette to new forms, such as electronic cigarettes, heated tobacco devices, and hookahs with various flavors, while doctors have warned of the spread of modern alternatives to traditional cigarettes, which are often marketed as safer options.

In detail, doctors identified to Emirates Today, on the occasion of World No Tobacco Day, which falls on May 31 of each year, four treatment services for those wishing to quit smoking, and three main challenges facing smokers while trying to stop, while the results of the recent national health and nutrition survey showed a decrease in the prevalence of smoking by 2.04%, as the results showed that the percentage of adults (18 years and over) who currently smoke tobacco is 8.7%.

Dr. Marwan Najib, Director of the Pulmonary Diseases Department at Sheikh Khalifa Medical City, explained that the UAE is witnessing a gradual improvement in the rates of traditional smoking, as a result of legislation and intensive awareness programmes. However, the greatest concern is the spread of smoking among young people, especially with the emergence of electronic cigarettes, as they are mistakenly viewed as less harmful. He pointed out that traditional cigarettes are still widespread, but hookah and electronic cigarettes are witnessing a noticeable increase, especially among young people and teenagers, driven by indirect promotion. And attractive flavours.

Najeeb said: “Health initiatives have achieved tangible success, especially through specialized clinics, regulating laws, and awareness campaigns. However, it requires continuity and constant updating to keep pace with changes in smoking patterns. Early prevention can be enhanced in schools and universities through interactive awareness programs, integrating preventive health concepts into curricula, empowering students with rejection skills and sound decision-making, in addition to involving the family and educational institutions together.”

Effects of smoking

He added: “Smoking is linked to high rates of heart disease, cancer, respiratory diseases, and strokes, in addition to its negative impact on mental health and quality of life in general. Although awareness is improving, some still underestimate the danger of passive smoking, especially for children and the elderly, as it leads to chest infections and allergies, and even an increased risk of chronic diseases. Najib attributed the reasons why some young people turn to smoking or e-cigarettes to the love of experience, the influence of friends, and misconceptions about safety and psychological pressures. In addition to the negative role of some content on social media,” he pointed out that it plays a dual role in encouraging smoking or reducing this phenomenon. It may contribute to the indirect promotion of smoking, but at the same time it is an effective tool for spreading positive awareness messages and influential campaigns if used intelligently.

Risks of alternatives

This opinion was supported by the consultant cardiologist at Sheikh Shakhbout Medical City, Dr. Sayed Gardezi, stressing the danger of alternatives to traditional smoking (heated tobacco products), especially since the data on the long-term effects of these products is still limited, and nicotine addiction remains when used, so these modern products cannot be considered risk-free, and they are absolutely not suitable for non-smokers, adolescents, or pregnant women, and they are not recommended for non-smokers, and complete abstinence from smoking remains. The only safe option.

He said: “The challenges that smokers may face when trying to quit smoking include dependence on nicotine, where the neurological and biological motivation to smoke is one of the biggest obstacles to quitting. The influence of the social environment also plays a major role, psychological and behavioral habituation, in addition to the risk of relapse over time,” stressing that dealing with and overcoming these challenges effectively requires raising public awareness and health education, facilitating access to smoking cessation services, organized behavioral counseling, and nicotine replacement therapy, in addition to social support.

Misconceptions

For her part, Dr. Halima Abdullah Hareeb Al-Shehhi, a family medicine consultant at SEHA clinics, the American Board of Lifestyle Medicine and a diploma in clinical psychology and smoking cessation, said: “Despite great awareness efforts, modern forms of smoking still attract a wide segment of young people, especially with the spread of the idea that they are ‘safer’ than traditional cigarettes. This belief has contributed to the increased use of electronic cigarettes, vaping, and heated tobacco devices among teenagers and young people, and the spread of these products is due to the ease of spreading them.” Their use, modern design, and diverse flavours, in addition to the spread of inaccurate information that reduces their health risks, in addition to the influence of indirect advertising through social media, and the availability of flavors that make the experience more acceptable to them.”

She added: “Recent studies confirm that these alternatives may contain high levels of nicotine and harmful chemicals, which may affect the health of the respiratory system and heart and lead to respiratory infections and complications. They may also lead to addiction at an early age, which in turn affects the brain, concentration and mood.”

Boot programs

She continued: “We adopt an integrated approach and programs based on scientific evidence to help smokers quit, where behavioral therapy, psychological support, and drug treatment are combined according to the needs of each patient, starting with understanding the nature of each person’s addiction, then providing an individual treatment plan that includes behavioral support, drug treatment, and continuous follow-up. The goal is not only to stop smoking, but rather to prevent relapse and improve the quality of life in the long term,” noting that the difficulties that smokers face while trying to quit include: symptoms of nicotine withdrawal such as tension, nervousness, and difficulty concentrating. The fear of gaining weight, losing control, and returning to smoking on social occasions or times of psychological stress, in addition to the belief that using vaping may be a safe alternative, which sometimes leads to continued dependence on nicotine instead of getting rid of it.

Smoking patterns

Meanwhile, a family medicine consultant at Sheikh Shakhbout Medical City, Dr. Salma Hamad Al Darmaki, warned that smoking is one of the most prominent causes leading to many health problems among members of society in the Emirates, as it is linked to respiratory diseases, heart diseases, and arteries, in addition to increasing the risk of lung cancer and some other types of cancer. Smoking also negatively affects physical fitness and oral and dental health, and may lead to addiction because it contains nicotine. Health authorities constantly stress the importance of prevention and awareness to reduce these effects and protect the health of society.

She pointed out that a relative decrease in traditional smoking was observed among some groups, compared to the greater spread of e-cigarettes and hookah among young people and adolescents, pointing to the difference in smoking patterns between age groups. Adults still tend to resort to traditional smoking, while younger groups are turning to modern methods, which raises the interest of health authorities in the need to enhance awareness to protect society.

Al Darmaki said: “According to recent studies, electronic cigarettes have become one of the most popular tobacco products among young people, due to the variety of their flavors and ease of use. In contrast, traditional cigarettes are still widespread among adults, while shisha maintains its social presence in gatherings and cafes, especially among different age groups. It is noted that the spread of these products varies according to age and lifestyle, which prompts health authorities to intensify awareness campaigns about the dangers of all types of smoking.”

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Early prevention

While the family medicine consultant at Al Dhafra Hospitals, Seha Company, Dr. Fawaz Jassim Mohammed, confirmed that achieving a society less dependent on smoking requires integrated efforts between the health sector, family, schools, media, and legislation. It is important to continue raising awareness, supporting prevention and treatment programs, and encouraging healthy lifestyles, in addition to strengthening control over modern tobacco products that increasingly target the youth group.

He stated that awareness of the dangers of passive smoking inside homes and public places has become better compared to previous years, but the need for continuous education still exists, especially with regard to children and the elderly, and passive smoking may cause respiratory problems and recurrent infections in children, and it also increases the risk of heart and lung diseases in those around the smoker, even if they are not smokers.

He stressed that early prevention begins with continuous awareness in a realistic way that is close to young people, and not just with traditional warnings. It is important to involve the family, schools, universities and the media in spreading a healthy culture, in addition to providing alternative activities that enhance mental and physical health. Early detection of risky behaviors and provision of psychological support play an important role in prevention.

Smoking motives

On the other hand, teenage boys and girls summarized the most prominent reasons for their tendency to smoke and switch from traditional cigarettes to electronic cigarettes in 10 main motives, which included: the belief that they are less harmful than traditional cigarettes and easier if one wants to stop, the love of experimentation and curiosity, especially in adolescence and youth, the influence of friends and the social environment, the desire to blend in or imitate others, the diverse and attractive flavors that make electronic cigarettes more acceptable to young people, and the modern design and ease of use compared to traditional cigarettes.

The reasons included being influenced by content on social media, advertisements or indirect promotion, psychological pressure and tension, the belief that smoking helps to relax or improve the mood, the absence of the strong smell and traditional smoke, which makes using them easier in some places and less attention-grabbing, and the desire to quit traditional cigarettes, as electronic cigarettes are considered a transitional step to stopping, in addition to the ease of obtaining them and the variety of their products.

World Tobacco Atlas

It is worth noting that, according to the statistics of the Global Tobacco Atlas – which collects reliable data on tobacco use around the world – tobacco use still represents a health challenge in the United Arab Emirates, despite the efforts made to reduce it, as the prevalence of smoking among adults aged 15 years and over (2025) reached about 8.20% among men compared to 1.40% among women, and at the level of health impact, the data indicate that the percentage of deaths attributed to tobacco use in 2023 reached 11.25%. Among men and 3.56% among women, while tobacco deaths in total constitute about 9.23% of all deaths in the country.

He stated that tobacco use has a negative impact on public health and the national economy, as it threatens efforts aimed at enhancing community well-being and protecting the environment, and constitutes an increasing financial burden. The economic cost of smoking and tobacco use in the UAE has been estimated annually at 10 billion and 946 thousand and 488 dirhams, and this includes direct costs related to health care expenses, and indirect costs related to decreased productivity resulting from disease and premature death.

Launching and awareness

Doctors unanimously agree that smoking rates in Emirati society have witnessed a noticeable change in recent years, coinciding with the intensification of health awareness campaigns and the tightening of legislation regulating smoking in public places. There has been a gradual increase in demand for smoking cessation clinics, driven by an increased level of health awareness and growing knowledge of the risks associated with smoking. Many patients have become more interested in adopting healthy lifestyles and preventing chronic diseases, which prompts them to seek medical support to help them quit.

They emphasized that health initiatives have contributed significantly to reducing the spread of smoking, through continuous awareness campaigns, implementing deterrent laws, and enhancing awareness of its health harms. These efforts have also encouraged an increasing number of individuals, especially young people, to quit smoking or reduce it. However, there is still a need to strengthen awareness programs to confront the spread of e-cigarettes and hookahs among some age groups, stressing that success in quitting smoking is rarely achieved without integrated support, as a combination of Health awareness, easy access to therapeutic services, and the provision of drug treatments, along with family and social support, are the most effective and sustainable approaches to maintaining long-term smoking abstinence.

Modern treatments

Doctors confirmed that health facilities in the UAE adopt a comprehensive and multidisciplinary approach to support patients who wish to quit smoking, through a set of integrated therapeutic and awareness services, including: providing behavioral support through specialized counseling sessions to help smokers quit, referring patients to pulmonary and psychiatry departments to evaluate associated health conditions related to the respiratory system and mental health, and conducting an assessment of the risks of cardiovascular disease, given the harmful effects of chronic tobacco use on heart health, and discussing nicotine replacement therapy options and providing them in a manner appropriate to the situation. The health condition and needs of each patient, in addition to educating patients through awareness materials and brochures based on scientific evidence about the dangers of smoking and ways to quit, stressing that this patient-centered therapeutic approach addresses the biological, psychological, and social aspects associated with nicotine dependence, in line with the latest internationally approved medical practices.

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