“No fire without smoke” [Archives:2006/957/Last Page]

Hamdan Dammag
“No smoking” has become a familiar sign around the world, especially given that the global campaign against smoking is growing stronger every day.

In Yemen, one notices that there are an increasing number of places where smoking is prohibited or at least not encouraged. Moreover, despite the traditional link between smoking and chewing qat (many Yemenis enjoy smoking while chewing qat), more citizens nowadays complain about smoking in maqayl (plural of maqil: the place where people sit and chew qat).

Nevertheless, the tragic thing is that many Yemeni men smoke where it's common sense that they shouldn't; for example, doctors and patients in hospitals, on-duty traffic police, inside crowded dababs (minibuses) and at gas stations while serving customers.

This photo shows a man working at a Sana'a gas station and smoking a cigarette while issuing a receipt for a customer. If you drive in Yemen, you can't miss this scene. In fact, like me, you may get the opportunity to be challenged by a gas station attendant, who'll try to prove that the cigarette can't cause a fire, even if it touches fuel.
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