Ramadan fast means hard times for Muslim smokers

RAMALLAH, West Bank — It's the fasting month of Ramadan, and fear of God keeps taxi driver Abdel Karim Romaneh from reaching for the pack of cigarettes next to his gearshift during the day, despite his pounding head and frazzled nerves.

But once the sun sets and the call of "Allahu Akbar" from Ramallah's mosques ends the daytime ban on food, drink and cigarettes, Romaneh indulges in his favorite vice.

"I don't want to quit smoking," said Romaneh, 42, who lights one Gauloise Light with another, inhaling deeply in between sips from a glass of thick Arabic coffee. "Smoking is a joy."

Like Romaneh in this West Bank Palestinian city, millions of Muslim smokers get on a nicotine roller coaster during Ramadan, which ends this year in late September. But health campaigners are increasingly trying to get them to quit altogether, using Ramadan as a springboard for anti-smoking drives.

A London mosque runs a "Stop smoking for Ramadan, stop smoking for life" appeal on its website, and a Saudi volunteer network is trying to bring that message to 10 million Arab Internet users. Read more

Source : USA Today - Religion- By Karin Laub and Dalia Nammari, Associated Press Writers