Smoking in Egypt

Health Minister Ashraf Hatem on Sunday said the goverment will increase taxes on cigarette companies to 70 percent.

To recognize the international No Tobacco Day, Hatem said Egypt spends around LE3 million to 4 million annually on treating smoking-related diseases.

 

The World Health Organization has issued reports criticizing low taxes imposed by the Egyptian government on cigarette companies, pointing out that this encourages smoking. 

 

A report issued in March showed that increasing taxes effectively discourages people from smoking. 

 

Ninety percent of lung cancers in Egypt are caused by smoking, the report added, and 44 percent of Egyptian  youth between the ages of 13 and 15 are affected by passive smoking in public areas.  

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Special offer for Egyptian Citizens!!!!! Cheap Holidays in Egypt

Egyptian Minister of Tourism Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour said on Saturday that a program to encourage domestic tourism will be launched by the end of the week, featuring cooperation between Egyptair, Al-Ahly Bank and the Ministry of Tourism.
The program is to include offers to Egyptian citizens of a week in a touristic destination for a nominal price, paid by interest-free installments over six months.
Abdel Nour announced the touristic program at a seminar titled “Our Egyptian Identity First and Foremost”, organized by the student union of Cairo University. He said that the Egyptian revolution had won Egypt the admiration of the whole world.
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Hurghada Guinness book of records mass dive attempt July 2011

Egypt to host mass-dive record attempt

Just two weeks after a British attempt was announced, an Egyptian group has said that it too will try to break the Guinness world record for the Most People Scuba Diving Simultaneously.

The Egypt Scuba Challenge aims to get 3000 divers into the water off Hurghada on 26 July 2011.

The stunt is being organised by the Egyptian Divers Syndicate in co-operation with the Hurghada Environmental Protection and Conservation Association (HEPCA).

“We have been looking for a spot that is suitable to hold such a huge amount of divers without any detrimental effect on the environment and have agreed on the outside area of the New Marina in Hurghada,” says HEPCA.

“This location has a large sandy plateau at 12-13m depth, which is capable of holding 3000 divers. There is hardly any marine life there, but plenty of rubbish.

“For this reason we do not only want to break the world record for the largest collective dive, but also the world record for the largest underwater clean-up.”

Local dive centres and travel agents operating to the area have been asked to “support the event and actively promote it”.
The event will “help promote tourism in Egypt and, at the same time, raise environmental awareness”.

Companies interested in supporting or taking part in the event will be provided with "promotional material and ideas".

Individual divers from overseas are also invited to participate.
“If you’d like to be part of the world record attempt and are a qualified diver, start searching for flights to Egypt and we look forward to seeing you here in July,” says HEPCA.

The minimum qualification level required is PADI Open Water Diver.

Enquiries should be sent to urte@hepca.com.

The Egyptians are getting their attempt in before the British one, which takes place in Swanage in late September.

The record stands at 2486 divers, who dived off Indonesia in 2009.
Should the Egyptians surpass this mark, the British dive will need to go one better to ensure that the Egyptian record lasts for just a couple of months this summer.

The organiser of the British event has, like HEPCA, cited 3000 divers as the immersion target. For more on the British attempt, click here.
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Suzanne Mubarak Thabit has been arrested

Suzanne Mubarak Thabit has been arrested and detained for 15 days pending investigation by illicit gains authority.

This is the first time in history the first lady of an Arab nation has been arrested for corruption.

On hearing the news of her arrest she complained of chest pains like her husband Hosny Mubarak done when he learned he was being arrested.

The Cardiac doctor in the Sharm el Sheikh hospital where they both were said that she would remain for 24 hours under observation and the people of Egypt expect her to be brought to the Kantar Prison in Cairo to await charges and trial.

Egyptians abroad voting rights

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