News from Jordan

The Jordan Times continues to provide us with interesting reading and the opportunity to learn more about the country.  Here are a few topics that we have been following.

Smoking: Smoking is frequently in the news, with a typical headline such as “Smoking still a common sight in public areas despite ban”.  I can attest to that.  Even the secretary to the Dean of the Faculty of Nursing smokes at her desk.  Another headline: “Fight against smoking to take centre stage in 2015 – Princess Dina”.  Princess Dina is the director general of the King Hussein Cancer Foundation and a strong supporter of anti-smoking campaigns. 

A Typical Sight 

[click on pictures to enlarge them]

all pictures taken by Ed Quigley

Under a law passed in 2008, smoking is prohibited in “hospitals, healthcare centers, schools, cinemas, theaters, libraries, museums, public and non-governmental buildings, public transport vehicles, closed playgrounds, lecture halls and any other location to be determined by the health minister”.  Punishment is between one week and one month imprisonment or a JD 15 to 25 ($21 to $35) fine.  In January the Health Ministry proposed increasing the fine to JD 100 ($140).  But in spite of all the restrictions, Jordanians spend JD 500 million ($705 million) on tobacco each year.  Considering cigarettes sell for around $2.50 a pack for Marlboros (and significantly less for local brands), that is a lot of smoking.  Although I have seen a variety of statistics regarding the percent of the population who smoke, a WHO report in 2013 indicates that 50% of men smoke.  Other reports put the number of male smokers at 55%.  Women are typically reported to be about 8 to 10%.  There is also a perception that smoking the argileh (water pipe) is less harmful.  According to the President of the Jordan National Anti-Smoking Society, smoking a single argileh is equal to smoking 15 to 40 cigarettes.  

Women Smoking the Argileh

This picture was taken in Jerash after dinner.  We watched the women come from one of the houses with the argileh, and settle in for a chat and a smoke.

Smoking in cafes is also coming under attack, but one manager of a café that serves argileh told the Jordan Times reporter that “it makes no sense to create a designated area for nonsmokers as the majority of his customers are smokers”.  A restaurant worker said that “you see the no smoking signs everywhere…but nobody cares”.  How right that is.  I have been in a taxi with three no smoking signs, and of course the driver is….smoking.

Woman Smoking the Argileh at a Cafe on Rainbow Street

Enforcement of the smoking is certainly spotty.  In 2014 the Ministry of Health issued “110 tickets and 296 warnings to restaurants, fast-food outlets, shopping malls, hotels, and individuals for violating the smoking ban in public places”.  One person could do that in a week!

Note the Argelih on the Sign

Cigarette smuggling to evade paying the taxes is also an issue.  In December the Customs Department found 152,000 cartons of cigarettes in shipping containers from China.  In November, 147,150 cartons were intercepted, again in containers at the Aqaba Port.  Last May, nine container trucks from Dubai were intercepted, in what was described as “one of the largest smuggling attempts in the history of the Jordan Customs Department”. 

 Smoking Shepherd

Water: Another frequent topic is water theft.  In one of the driest countries in the world, illegal wells and illegal taps into water mains is a common problem.  In one month authorities “dismantled 408 illegal fixtures on water mains and pipes across the Kingdom”.  In the same month, the Ministry of Water and Irrigation also “sealed 26 illegal wells and confiscated 30 drilling rigs”.  They conclude that water theft in Jordan “constitutes 70% of water loss”.  Most of the stolen water is diverted to crops and livestock, often in the Jordan Valley where most of the farming occurs.  In January USAID signed an agreement to provide $30 million to assist in limiting water loss and theft.  Since 2000, the US has provided $700 million to Jordan to improve the water situation.

Medical Tourism: The Private Hospitals Association reported that 250,000 patients came from abroad for treatment in 2014.  In Amman there are 9 hospitals that are accredited by the Joint Commission International (the international arm of the same organization that accredits hospitals in the US).  They estimate that each patient is accompanied by two people and that total revenue from medical tourism is JD 1 billion ($1.4 billion) when medical procedures, accommodations, transportation and other expenses are added in.

Drug Smuggling: There are frequent accounts of the seizure of Captagon pills.  I had never heard of Captagon.  A quick internet search told me why. Captagon is the trademark name for the synthetic stimulant fenethylline, which was first produced in the 1960s to treat hyperactivity, narcolepsy and depression.  It was banned in most countries by the 1980s as too addictive.  It is almost exclusively used in the Middle East.  In the year from May 2013 to May 2014 the Anti-Narcotics Department in Jordan seized almost 2.5million Captagon pills.  In a two week period in November 2014 they seized 1.13 million Captagon pills.  The incentive to be involved in this elicit trade is high.  In the rich Gulf countries a pill has a street value of JD 7 ($10), while in Jordan it is only worth about JD 1 ($1.40).  Other drug seizures in the 12 month period included 664 kg of hashish, 6719 kg of marijuana, 331 kg of cocaine, 219 kg of heroin, and 24 kg of opium. (1 kilo equals 2.2 pounds.) A total of almost 11,000 people were arrested on drug charges. 

Article 308: Article 308 of the Penal Code states that rapists are spared from punishment or legal prosecution if they marry the victims and stay with them for five years.  HRH Princess Basma says it is the “role of the media to build a unified stand against Article 308 and to raise the level of debate to make it a public opinion issue”.  Egypt and Morocco have both cancelled similar laws in the last few years.  It would be interesting to know if there are other countries that still have similar laws. I have not been able to find any statistics as to how often this occurs.  Hopefully it will not be long until this law is reversed.

And a little trivia: There are 119,000 engineers in Jordan.  This equates to 1 in every 65 Jordanians.  But if you only consider adults, it equates to 1 in 35.  Not surprisingly, there is unemployment among engineers.  Women are well represented in the field, constituting 25% of the total number.

So that’s the news for today.