A survey carried out by recruitment portal GulfTalent.com reveals Middle Eastern countries are among the most smoker-friendly in the world.

DOHA • There's bad news for the votaries of ‘Quit Smoking’, at least in the case of professionals in the Middle East.

Qatar, which has imposed a blanket ban on smoking in government offices and public places and with many private companies following suit, still has 32 per cent of professionals who smoke in the workplace. Forty-two per cent of private offices are free of smokers, a survey carried out by recruitment portal GulfTalent.com said.

Middle Eastern countries are among the most smoker-friendly in the world. In the region, 33 per cent of professionals are smokers, with Egypt and Jordan topping the list at 38 per cent each, revealed the survey.

Broken down region-wise, smoking is most prevalent among Arab professionals at 36 per cent, followed by western professionals at 28 per cent and the Asians at 27 per cent. Oman has the lowest number of ‘smoking professionals’-20 per cent, the survey revealed.

Low tobacco taxation coupled with the laxity in implementing the ban order on public smoking are among the reasons attributed to the phenomenon. The low tobacco taxation makes the purchase of cigarettes extremely affordable. "An international brand of cigarettes costs just $1.70 per pack across the UAE, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, compared to $4.50 in the US and $11.50 in the UK," the report says.

However, the rosy side of the picture is that only one third of the total professionals in the region have a smoking habit. And 98 per cent of them are all for imposing a ban on smoking in the workplace.

After Oman, Kuwait has the second-lowest rate of ‘smoking professionals'-28 per cent. While 36 per cent of professionals in Saudi Arabia and Lebanon are smokers, the rate in the UAE is 32 per cent and in Bahrain, 29 per cent.

In terms of gender, smoking is far more prevalent among men than women, with 36 per cent of male professionals being smokers compared to 18 per cent of their female counterparts.

On a corporate level, 55 per cent of companies currently have imposed a total ban on indoor smoking, while 36 per cent permit smoking in designated areas only. The penetration of smoking bans varies greatly across the region. Oman leads the anti-smoking drive in the GCC with 65 per cent of companies having a complete smoking ban

Kuwait is the most ‘smoker-friendly’ country with only 42 per cent of firms banning smoking in the workplace.

In Oman, 65 per cent of companies have imposed a ban on smoking. While the ban rate is 62 per cent in UAE, the rate is 58 per cent and 56 per cent in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia respectively.

By industry, the healthcare sector is most health conscious, with 74 per cent of organisations having a complete smoking ban, partly as a result of specific anti-smoking legislation applied to the healthcare industry. The legal profession appears to be the least concerned, with a high 69 per cent shying away from imposing the ban.

The professionals who participated in the survey were divided in their opinion on the relative productivity of smokers and non-smokers. Some believe smokers to be less productive due to frequent cigarette breaks and higher levels of sickness and absenteeism.

However, the majority did not believe in a link between smoking and productivity, and considered cigarette breaks to be no more disruptive than tea or coffee breaks enjoyed by non-smokers.

Over 5,000 professionals, including HR managers, in nine major Arab countries in the Middle East participated in the survey.