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Jirjees F, Dallal Bashi YH, Kharaba Z, Ahmadi K, Barakat M, AlObaidi H. Public awareness, prevalence, and regulations for the sale of electronic cigarettes in Arab countries: A narrative review. Tob Induc Dis 2023; 21:143. [PMID: 37901882 PMCID: PMC10603825 DOI: 10.18332/tid/168435] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2022] [Revised: 06/16/2023] [Accepted: 06/19/2023] [Indexed: 10/31/2023] Open
Abstract
The majority of the Arab countries have high records of daily tobacco smoking. Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) use has exponentially increased in the past decade in Arab countries. Consumers' willingness to quit smoking traditional cigarettes and their perception of e-cigarettes as a safer alternative to conventional cigarettes have increased the demand for these devices. This narrative review aimed to gather and discuss the available literature on the awareness, prevalence, and sales regulations of e-cigarettes in Arab countries. A search was conducted on electronic databases such as PubMed, Medline, Scopus, and Google Scholar with no time limits until the end of 2021. Some of the recent studies (2019-2021) considered in this review have reported that more than 25% of participants were e-cigarettes users. The prevalence of e-cigarettes has increased drastically with raised awareness of e-cigarettes among the population in these Arab countries. Most of the users of e-cigarettes are young males. In addition, an increase in e-cigarettes use has been reported in females. The policies which regulate trade and sale of e-cigarettes and related products were issued in only three Arab countries. In contrast, regulations for the trade and sale of traditional cigarette products are also applied in some countries to e-cigarette products, banning the sale of e-cigarettes to minors and/or amend smoke-free laws to restrict public use of e-cigarettes. There is a need for a concerted effort to assess the prevalence and significant rise of e-cigarettes consumption in Arab societies to help implement and improve harm reduction policies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Feras Jirjees
- College of Pharmacy, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
| | | | - Zelal Kharaba
- College of Pharmacy, Al Ain University, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
- Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle, United Kingdom
| | - Keivan Ahmadi
- NIHR Applied Research Collaboration Northwest London, Department of Primary Care and Public Health, School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Muna Barakat
- Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Therapeutics, School of Pharmacy, Applied Science Private University, Amman, Jordan
| | - Hala AlObaidi
- School of Pharmacy, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast, United Kingdom
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Kharaba Z, Feghali E, El Husseini F, Sacre H, Abou Selwan C, Saadeh S, Hallit S, Jirjees F, AlObaidi H, Salameh P, Malaeb D. An Assessment of Quality of Life in Patients With Asthma Through Physical, Emotional, Social, and Occupational Aspects. A Cross-Sectional Study. Front Public Health 2022; 10:883784. [PMID: 36117601 PMCID: PMC9477115 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.883784] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2022] [Accepted: 06/07/2022] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Asthma is a prevalent hyperactive airway disease with physical and emotional impact. Severe asthma is associated with considerable health-related quality of life (HRQoL). The aim of this study is to assess the quality of life through physical, emotional, social and occupational aspects and evaluate the factors affecting HRQoL in patients with asthma. Methods This is a cross-sectional multicenter study conducted on adult asthmatic patients enrolled from community pharmacies across different Lebanese geographic areas. Results Having wheezing sometimes and most of the time (Beta = -0.144 and -0.552), experiencing anxiety sometimes and most of the time (Beta = -0.205 and -0.573), encountering sleep problems sometimes and most of the time (Beta = -0.270 and -0.553), having previous chest discomfort sometimes and most of the time (Beta = -0.421 and -0.713), and having depression most of the times (Beta = -0.415) were associated with higher lower quality of life scores. On the other side, holding a secondary level of education was associated with a higher quality of life score (Beta = 0.192). Conclusion This study highlights that asthma affects adults' quality of life through social, emotional, physical, and occupational impacts. Improved follow-up and patient education may be essential in the future to stop disease progression and achieve ideal therapeutic outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zelal Kharaba
- Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Al-Ain University of Science and Technology, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates,Al Ain University Health and Biomedical Research Center (HBRC), Al Ain University, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
| | - Emilie Feghali
- School of Pharmacy, Lebanese International University, Beirut, Lebanon
| | - Farah El Husseini
- School of Pharmacy, Lebanese International University, Beirut, Lebanon
| | - Hala Sacre
- INSPECT-LB: Institut National de Santé Publique, Epidemiologie Clinique et Toxicologie, Beirut, Lebanon
| | - Carla Abou Selwan
- INSPECT-LB: Institut National de Santé Publique, Epidemiologie Clinique et Toxicologie, Beirut, Lebanon
| | - Sylvia Saadeh
- Life Sciences and Health Department, Paris-Est University, Paris, France,Health and Sciences Department, American University of Health and Sciences, Beirut, Lebanon
| | - Souheil Hallit
- School of Medicine and Medical Sciences, Holy Spirit University of Kaslik, Jounieh, Lebanon,Psychology Department, College of Humanities, Effat University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia,Research Department, Psychiatric Hospital of the Cross, Jal El Dib, Lebanon
| | - Feras Jirjees
- College of Pharmacy, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
| | - Hala AlObaidi
- College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Ajman University, Ajman, United Arab Emirates
| | - Pascale Salameh
- INSPECT-LB: Institut National de Santé Publique, Epidemiologie Clinique et Toxicologie, Beirut, Lebanon,School of Medicine, Lebanese American University, Byblos, Lebanon,Department of Primary Care and Population Health, University of Nicosia Medical School, Nicosia, Cyprus,Faculty of Pharmacy, Lebanese University, Hadat, Lebanon
| | - Diana Malaeb
- School of Pharmacy, Lebanese International University, Beirut, Lebanon,College of Pharmacy, Gulf Medical University, Ajman, United Arab Emirates,*Correspondence: Diana Malaeb
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