The Public Health and Safety Department of Dubai Municipality has announced that the civic body will observe World No Tobacco Day, which falls on May 31st, with a wide range of activities in different locations of Dubai.
Marwan Al Mohammed, Director Public Health and Safety Department said around 500 shops of different groups have joined hands with the civic body to stop selling tobacco products this coming Saturday for 24 hours from midnight to midnight. 
“The ultimate goal of World No Tobacco Day is to contribute to protecting present and future generations not only from the devastating health consequences due to tobacco, but also from the social, environmental and economic scourges of tobacco use and exposure to tobacco smoke,” he said.
“Our initiative is aimed at highlighting the health risks associated with tobacco use and advocating for effective policies to reduce tobacco consumption. The campaign mainly targets youth as most of the people start smoking at an early age. The campaign focuses on the importance of healthy life style, and also highlights the efforts of the Municipality in providing free treatment to the employees who are smokers and follow up until they quit smoking,’ he explained.
Ahmad Saeed Al Naqaz, Public Safety Officer and Campaign Coordinator, said, “The civic body has been organising this day without tobacco drive for five years.
According to WHO, the global tobacco epidemic kills nearly 6 million people each year, of which more than 600,000 are non-smokers dying from breathing second-hand smoke. WAM