Sunday, the Minister of Health Feras al-Hawari said  smoking rates in Jordan must be reducedm stressing that it is no longer acceptable to continue as is with the current situation.

He told Roya that smoking is a major contributor to the spread of non-communicable diseases, especially heart diseases, cancer, respiratory diseases and type-two diabetes.

Hawari pointed out that Jordan ranked high worldwide in terms of the percentage of smokers and the number of cigarettes consumed.

He explained that smoking cessation services are essential services provided by the Ministry of Health as part of their prevention and early detection strategy to reduce morbidity rates in Jordan, and reduce the health cost of treating these diseases in Jordan.

Hawari indicated that Jordan spends 8.5 percent of the gross domestic product on health, stressing that the figure is high and equivalent to twice what neighboring countries spend, stressing the need to work on prevention, especially the anti-smoking program and services.