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| Can Ethiopia's 'secret smokers' stub out their cigarettes? | Can Ethiopia's 'secret smokers' stub out their cigarettes? |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A lone dancer weaves arabesque shapes with the red tip of his cigarette to the rhythm of loud Amharic music in a dark closeted bar in Ethiopia's capital - oblivious to a recent ban on smoking in public places. | A lone dancer weaves arabesque shapes with the red tip of his cigarette to the rhythm of loud Amharic music in a dark closeted bar in Ethiopia's capital - oblivious to a recent ban on smoking in public places. |
| The night-time corners of Addis Ababa have long allowed revellers in a deeply conservative society to embrace activities that might otherwise be frowned upon - including smoking cigarettes. | The night-time corners of Addis Ababa have long allowed revellers in a deeply conservative society to embrace activities that might otherwise be frowned upon - including smoking cigarettes. |
| Cigarettes remain deeply divisive in Ethiopian culture and Addis Ababa smokers well into their 20s will not tell disapproving parents of their habit. | Cigarettes remain deeply divisive in Ethiopian culture and Addis Ababa smokers well into their 20s will not tell disapproving parents of their habit. |
| "It is the health implications, money, everything - they worry you will get addicted," says 23-year-old Haile, who like other smokers interviewed did not want to give his second name. | "It is the health implications, money, everything - they worry you will get addicted," says 23-year-old Haile, who like other smokers interviewed did not want to give his second name. |
| Smoking at home is not an option - so Haile and his contemporaries tend to turn to the dive bars in the old city's Piazza, the dark alleys off the main thoroughfare of Bole Road and the red-light district of Chechnya to light up. | Smoking at home is not an option - so Haile and his contemporaries tend to turn to the dive bars in the old city's Piazza, the dark alleys off the main thoroughfare of Bole Road and the red-light district of Chechnya to light up. |
| Mohammed, 27-year-old smoker in Addis Ababa: | Mohammed, 27-year-old smoker in Addis Ababa: |
| "Non-smokers will be happy, but I am uncomfortable with not being able to do what I want - it is taking away a bit of my freedom" | "Non-smokers will be happy, but I am uncomfortable with not being able to do what I want - it is taking away a bit of my freedom" |
| "I am not sure what we will do if smoking is banned everywhere," says 25-year-old Mikael, who sat with friends smoking around a table in a beer garden off Bole Road. | "I am not sure what we will do if smoking is banned everywhere," says 25-year-old Mikael, who sat with friends smoking around a table in a beer garden off Bole Road. |
| Mohammed, 27, who sits smoking opposite Mikael, was more circumspect. | Mohammed, 27, who sits smoking opposite Mikael, was more circumspect. |
| "Non-smokers will be happy, but I am uncomfortable with not being able to do what I want - it is taking away a bit of my freedom." | "Non-smokers will be happy, but I am uncomfortable with not being able to do what I want - it is taking away a bit of my freedom." |
| However, implementing the ban in Addis Ababa, a rambunctious city that has grown to about five million people, has not proved a simple task. | However, implementing the ban in Addis Ababa, a rambunctious city that has grown to about five million people, has not proved a simple task. |
| A manager of one Piazza bar has felt no pressure to impose a policy that would be unpopular with his 20-something clientele: "We watched news about the ban on television and so expected it to be enforced around here, but nothing has happened - day and night you can smoke here, inside and outside." | A manager of one Piazza bar has felt no pressure to impose a policy that would be unpopular with his 20-something clientele: "We watched news about the ban on television and so expected it to be enforced around here, but nothing has happened - day and night you can smoke here, inside and outside." |
| Imported habit | Imported habit |
| In newer upmarket nightclubs, more health-conscious customers are often glad to see smoking eliminated. | In newer upmarket nightclubs, more health-conscious customers are often glad to see smoking eliminated. |
| Amare Reda, Addis Ababa bar owner: | Amare Reda, Addis Ababa bar owner: |
| "Customers going to higher end places tend to be more health conscious than customers in cheaper places, many of whom still do not understand the problem of passive smoking" | "Customers going to higher end places tend to be more health conscious than customers in cheaper places, many of whom still do not understand the problem of passive smoking" |
| "I spent 20 years in Sweden and saw how it could work," says Amare Reda, who implemented a smoking ban in his large stylish nightclub, Stockholm Elegance, when it opened in 2014. | "I spent 20 years in Sweden and saw how it could work," says Amare Reda, who implemented a smoking ban in his large stylish nightclub, Stockholm Elegance, when it opened in 2014. |
| "Customers going to higher-end places tend to be more health conscious than customers in cheaper places, many of whom still do not understand the problem of passive smoking." | "Customers going to higher-end places tend to be more health conscious than customers in cheaper places, many of whom still do not understand the problem of passive smoking." |
| In 2004, the Ethiopian government - keen to be seen as a team player internationally, especially on populist global issues such as climate change and poverty reduction - signed the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. | In 2004, the Ethiopian government - keen to be seen as a team player internationally, especially on populist global issues such as climate change and poverty reduction - signed the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. |
| A decade later, it ratified the international convention, entering it into Ethiopian law books - and early in 2015 Mekelle, in Ethiopia's northern Tigray region, became the first city to implement the ban. | A decade later, it ratified the international convention, entering it into Ethiopian law books - and early in 2015 Mekelle, in Ethiopia's northern Tigray region, became the first city to implement the ban. |
| By the end of September last year, no-smoking signs in Amharic and English started appearing on walls and windows of Addis Ababa hotels, bars and cafes. | By the end of September last year, no-smoking signs in Amharic and English started appearing on walls and windows of Addis Ababa hotels, bars and cafes. |
| Ethiopia has never had a significant smoking problem compared with much of the world, though smoking invariably has health, social, economic and environmental consequences for the country. | Ethiopia has never had a significant smoking problem compared with much of the world, though smoking invariably has health, social, economic and environmental consequences for the country. |
| About 7.9% of Ethiopia's urban population and 5.5% of those in rural areas - where most people live - were smokers in 2011, according to figures from the country's Food, Medicine and Health Care Administration and Control Authority (FMHACA). | About 7.9% of Ethiopia's urban population and 5.5% of those in rural areas - where most people live - were smokers in 2011, according to figures from the country's Food, Medicine and Health Care Administration and Control Authority (FMHACA). |
| "The numbers seem small, but that is why it is better to take action now," says FMHACA's Asnakech Alemu. "Once they are bigger it will be harder to control." | "The numbers seem small, but that is why it is better to take action now," says FMHACA's Asnakech Alemu. "Once they are bigger it will be harder to control." |
| Ethiopia's first cigarette factory was built in the early 20th Century, primarily to cater for the habits of Italian soldiers around the country's eastern borders. | Ethiopia's first cigarette factory was built in the early 20th Century, primarily to cater for the habits of Italian soldiers around the country's eastern borders. |
| During Emperor Haile Selassie's reign, as the country continued to open to the West, imported Peugeot cars with inbuilt ashtrays encouraged smoking among wealthier Ethiopians. | |
| Saving smokers money | Saving smokers money |
| Beyond health repercussions of smoking, the ban aims to alleviate the smoking habits of breadwinners, to help low-income Ethiopian households, says FMHACA's Baharu Zewdie. | Beyond health repercussions of smoking, the ban aims to alleviate the smoking habits of breadwinners, to help low-income Ethiopian households, says FMHACA's Baharu Zewdie. |
| For many Ethiopians - a 20 Ethiopian birr ($1, £0.70) pack of locally made Nyala cigarettes are prohibitively expensive, as a construction worker would earn 50 birr a day. In response, street stalls sell single cigarettes. | For many Ethiopians - a 20 Ethiopian birr ($1, £0.70) pack of locally made Nyala cigarettes are prohibitively expensive, as a construction worker would earn 50 birr a day. In response, street stalls sell single cigarettes. |
| According to the terms of the convention, Ethiopia has until 2020 to implement the ban country-wide. | According to the terms of the convention, Ethiopia has until 2020 to implement the ban country-wide. |
| An indigenous form of smoking similar to the shisha pipes or hookahs smoked in the Middle East is especially popular in southern Ethiopia. | An indigenous form of smoking similar to the shisha pipes or hookahs smoked in the Middle East is especially popular in southern Ethiopia. |
| Smokers inhale through a mouthpiece attached to a large pot, or gourd, in which tobacco burns on charcoal or cow dung. | Smokers inhale through a mouthpiece attached to a large pot, or gourd, in which tobacco burns on charcoal or cow dung. |
| Mr Baharu says smoking is most popular in eastern parts of Ethiopia, where a cigarette is often smoked by those chewing khat leaves. | Mr Baharu says smoking is most popular in eastern parts of Ethiopia, where a cigarette is often smoked by those chewing khat leaves. |
| It is an addictive stimulant, which is chewed for hours usually by men sitting in groups. | It is an addictive stimulant, which is chewed for hours usually by men sitting in groups. |
| They have yet to face the smoking ban, but the authorities hope it will have been fully implemented in the capital within a year. | They have yet to face the smoking ban, but the authorities hope it will have been fully implemented in the capital within a year. |
| It is not all doom and gloom for Addis Ababa's smokers as smoking will be allowed on public premises in designated ventilated rooms, or outside for those over 18 years old. | It is not all doom and gloom for Addis Ababa's smokers as smoking will be allowed on public premises in designated ventilated rooms, or outside for those over 18 years old. |
| And some are now taking the law seriously - with some murky drinking dens having these designated smoking rooms, while at others smokers obediently sit on stools outside. | And some are now taking the law seriously - with some murky drinking dens having these designated smoking rooms, while at others smokers obediently sit on stools outside. |
| For Mohammed, however, these new rules are not going to change his life style. | For Mohammed, however, these new rules are not going to change his life style. |
| "Though maybe I will stop when I have kids," he says. | "Though maybe I will stop when I have kids," he says. |