DAMASCUS - SMOKERS in Syria burn up about US$600 million on tobacco and cigarettes each year, despite a ban on advertising and smoking in public, according to statistics published on Monday.
'Smokers annually spend about 26 billion Syrian pounds (US$600 million),' the state news agency SANA said, quoting a report by an official Syrian tobacco insitution.
'Each smoker spends about eight per cent of his income to buy 3.6 kilogrammes of tobacco,' it said.
The number of smokers in the Middle Eastern country has gone up by 15 percent, it said without elaborating, despite government attempts to counter the trend.
SANA said up to 60 per cent of men and 24 per cent of women still light up in Syria, which has a population approaching 20 million and where nargileh, or water pipes, are becoming increasingly popular.
A law came into force in 2006 banning smoking in public places and on public transport, and a year ago Syria introduced a ban on tobacco sales to those under the age of 19. -- AFP
