UNITED KINGDOM, November 16, 2001: An advertising campaign to warn Asian communities in the UK of the dangers of smoking and chewing tobacco is being launched by the government. It hopes to encourage people in Bangladeshi, Pakistani and Indian communities to quit the habit, particularly as they are more susceptible to the diseases that result from nicotine addiction. The Department of Health campaign will be launched to coincide with Ramadan, Islam’s holiest month, when Muslims have to abstain from smoking between sunrise and sunset. The problem is serious as rates of angina, heart attack, stroke, diabetes and blood pressure are more than 50% higher than the UK national average among Pakistani and Bangladeshi men. Some 44% of Bangladeshi men in the UK smoke, compared with 27% of the general male population.
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