AUB researchers and professors will release to the public, for the first time ever, new facts and figures estimating the cost to the economy of widespread tobacco use in Lebanon and the absence of a tobacco control law banning smoking in closed public spaces.
The dollar estimate of the cost of tobacco in Lebanon was calculated as part of an in-depth study conducted by three AUB academics: economics professors Jad Chaaban and Nisreen Salti and researcher Nadia Naamani from Health Sciences.
The study will debunk several myths about the positive impact of tobacco on the Lebanese economy. Some of the topics it will cover include: the impact of a tobacco control law on farmers, the environment, businesses, tourism, and the advertising sector, in addition to the effect of tobacco consumption on the national health bill.
The study will be publicized for the first time on May 4 at 9.30am in College Hall Auditorium B 1.
Speakers will include Professors Rima Nakkash and Jad Chaaban and Rami Khoury, the director of the Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs.
