Latest news with #Shamma
Qatar Tribune
08-07-2025
- Health
- Qatar Tribune
PHCC warns of serious health risks linked to smokeless tobacco use
DOHA: The Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC) has strongly warned against the health risks associated with the use of smokeless tobacco, particularly 'Sweika', a substance mistakenly believed by many to be less harmful than smoking. Sweika, also known as 'Shamma' or 'Tombak', is a harmful habit involving a specially processed form of tobacco often mixed with nicotine and sodium bicarbonate. It is used by placing it inside the mouth for a period before disposal. Dr Jinan Mohammed Suleiman, a family physician at PHCC, emphasized that Sweika poses serious health threats. "Many people wrongly believe that Sweika is a safer alternative to smoking. In reality, the direct exposure of certain areas of the mouth to tobacco increases the risk of severe health complications, which are not limited to the oral cavity but also extend to the esophagus, colon, pancreas, and bladder, due to the absorption and ingestion of tobacco juices," she said. Dr Suleiman explained that the use of Sweika is associated with a range of health issues that make it a dangerous practice. Users may experience impaired taste perception, which negatively affects their quality of life. Additionally, it increases the risk of gum inflammation, tartar buildup, and tooth decay, as Sweika facilitates the adherence of plaque to teeth and causes dark discoloration, turning them brown or black. She further noted that Sweika can lead to elevated blood pressure and narrowing of the coronary blood vessels, increasing the risk of heart attacks. In the most severe cases, its prolonged use has been linked to higher rates of cancers affecting the mouth, pharynx, esophagus, gums, stomach, and pancreas, among the most alarming consequences of this habit. PHCC has taken proactive steps to support individuals seeking to quit tobacco in all its forms, including smokeless tobacco. It offers specialized tobacco cessation clinics that provide medical consultations and ongoing support from trained physicians. Appointments can be easily booked by calling PHCC's customer service number or through a referral from a treating physician, ensuring accessible and effective medical support. These clinics offer various treatment options, including behavioral therapy and pharmacological interventions. Among these are nicotine replacement therapies such as nicotine patches, which help maintain stable nicotine levels throughout the day to reduce dependence, and varenicline, a medication that targets specific receptors in the brain to diminish the pleasurable effects of nicotine and support the decision to quit. PHCC physicians tailor treatment plans based on individual assessments, taking into account the patient's health status and degree of addiction to determine the most appropriate therapy.
The National
30-04-2025
- Politics
- The National
Palestinian Authority shake-up faces widespread disdain in West Bank
Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza Ahmad Shamma, an official at Al Ain refugee camp, spoke wearily about the difficulties his 10,000 residents are facing in the occupied West Bank city of Nablus, after the Gaza war caused an economic crisis and unleashed unprecedented Israeli settler and military violence. Only a few hours ago, the Israeli army barrelled through the wide streets of the city, bursting into the narrow alleys of Al Ain to launch an operation that locked down the camp. Troops searched house to house in a manner Mr Shamma said terrified residents, particularly children and the elderly. 'The army came to the camp with a special engineering unit. We could see forcers holding maps in their hands,' he said. 'The raid lasted about four hours. They were taking photos with cameras and comparing, and looking at maps and taking pictures. Some people started rumours that the army will come and destroy homes. We don't know really what they're aiming for, we only saw what they were doing.' Sitting behind his manager's desk, Mr Shamma was flanked by large pictures of Yasser Arafat and Mahmoud Abbas, the former and current chairmen of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), considered internationally as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. The two pictures are a common sight in official Palestinian buildings in the West Bank. For six decades, the PLO has been the umbrella group for the Palestinian Authority, which has governed parts of the West Bank for three decades, a number of Palestinian political parties and diplomatic missions at the UN, and in the world's most important capitals. Many in the international community view it as having a key role in the reconstruction of postwar Gaza. People in Nablus share no such hope in its capabilities. The overwhelming sense across the West Bank is that the PA is barely clinging on to power in the areas it is supposed to control. Nablus is one of a dwindling few, crumpled by a crisis of legitimacy and confidence, and accusations of enabling Israel's occupation. Fanfare at meetings of the Palestinian Central Council last week in the capital Ramallah appears to not have helped. Most residents The National spoke to in Nablus this week either refused to comment on the proceedings, which should be one of the most important events in the Palestinian political calendar, or dismissed them entirely. When asked what he thought of the event, Mr Shamma smiled wryly and said: 'If we didn't have hope, we would not be here. We remain convinced that one day we will get our rights.' Speaking in a far grander office down the road, Nablus governor Ghassan Daghlas, appointed by Mr Abbas last year, offered clearer support for the PA leaders, saying they are making decisions vital to keeping Nablus stable in terms of security. While the city is in far worse shape than before the war, the situation is better than in neighbouring Palestinian cities. Nearby Jenin, for example, is now in its 100th day of an unprecedented raid in which the city's refugee camp has been systematically destroyed. Israel says the overall operation – in which tens of thousands have been displaced, entire streets destroyed and affected camps left inaccessible – aims to defeat militants in the area, a process it said was accelerated after unpopular PA security forces lost control of the city. Mr Daghlas said preventing similar devastation in Nablus is a key priority and that authorities in Ramallah are taking unpleasant but necessary measures to achieve that, even if it means working with Israel's military to suppress militants, who many Palestinians view as powerful symbols of their resistance. 'We tell our people that this current [Israeli] government has only destruction as its ideology,' he said. 'That's why I keep telling them that in order to prevent destruction we have to keep the governorate peaceful and stable. No militant should be able to drag our governorate into war." Mr Daghlas welcomed the biggest outcome from the meeting, the creation of the position of vice president of the PLO, which was given to long-time Abbas confidant Hussein Al Sheikh. 'The creation of the vice president position was a Palestinian decision, in a Palestinian institution that is led by Palestinians,' Mr Daghlas said. 'Hussein Al Sheikh is a strong figure and understands the situation. He has his expertise. He will help Abbas and he will help Palestinian institutions." Few Palestinians share this positive view of Mr Al Sheikh, who is widely perceived as a symbol of the worst excesses of PA complicity with the occupier, in particular through co-ordination between Palestinian security forces and Israel, which happens a great deal in Nablus. Mr Al Sheikh is widely believed to be the Palestinian official with the highest level of contact with Israel's security world and its US backers. Commentator and former Israeli military international spokesman Jonathan Conricus told The National that, while Mr Al Sheikh is 'perhaps the best-known senior who has the most face time with Israeli and American officials", his vast unpopularity among Palestinians is a major challenge for the PA. 'I think his personal brand is on the extreme in terms of how much he is loathed and despised by Palestinians for being corrupt or an Israeli collaborator. That probably isn't going to be very useful for the PA,' he added. 'Hussein Al Sheikh is another nail in the casket of that corruption and poor governance.' Back in Al Ain, as young boys scrambled through a graveyard below the office that Israeli troops stormed in an earlier raid, Mr Shamma, still cautious, eventually gave his most direct words on the matter. 'The leadership always changes, but in the end what is really needed are only the rights of the people.'
The National
30-04-2025
- Politics
- The National
Palestinian Authority shake-up prompts disdain in West Bank
Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza Ahmad Shamma, an official at Al Ain refugee camp, spoke wearily about the difficulties his 10,000 residents are facing in the occupied West Bank city of Nablus, after the Gaza war caused an economic crisis and unleashed unprecedented Israeli settler and military violence. Only a few hours ago, the Israeli army barrelled through the wide streets of the city, bursting into the narrow alleys of Al Ain to launch an operation that locked down the camp. Troops searched house to house in a manner Mr Shamma said terrified residents, particularly children and the elderly. 'The army came to the camp with a special engineering unit. We could see forcers holding maps in their hands,' he said. 'The raid lasted about four hours. They were taking photos with cameras and comparing, and looking at maps and taking pictures. Some people started rumours that the army will come and destroy homes. We don't know really what they're aiming for, we only saw what they were doing.' Sitting behind his manager's desk, Mr Shamma was flanked by large pictures of Yasser Arafat and Mahmoud Abbas, the former and current chairmen of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), considered internationally as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. The two pictures are a common sight in official Palestinian buildings in the West Bank. For six decades, the PLO has been the umbrella group for the Palestinian Authority, which has governed parts of the West Bank for three decades, a number of Palestinian political parties and diplomatic missions at the UN, and in the world's most important capitals. Many in the international community view it as having a key role in the reconstruction of postwar Gaza. People in Nablus share no such hope in its capabilities. The overwhelming sense across the West Bank is that the PA is barely clinging on to power in the areas it is supposed to control. Nablus is one of a dwindling few, crumpled by a crisis of legitimacy and confidence, and accusations of enabling Israel's occupation. Fanfare at meetings of the Palestinian Central Council last week in the capital Ramallah appears to not have helped. Most residents The National spoke to in Nablus this week either refused to comment on the proceedings, which should be one of the most important events in the Palestinian political calendar, or dismissed them entirely. When asked what he thought of the event, Mr Shamma smiled wryly and said: 'If we didn't have hope, we would not be here. We remain convinced that one day we will get our rights.' Speaking in a far grander office down the road, Nablus governor Ghassan Daghlas, appointed by Mr Abbas last year, offered clearer support for the PA leaders, saying they are making decisions vital to keeping Nablus stable in terms of security. While the city is in far worse shape than before the war, the situation is better than in neighbouring Palestinian cities. Nearby Jenin, for example, is now in its 100th day of an unprecedented raid in which the city's refugee camp has been systematically destroyed. Israel says the overall operation – in which tens of thousands have been displaced, entire streets destroyed and affected camps left inaccessible – aims to defeat militants in the area, a process it said was accelerated after unpopular PA security forces lost control of the city. Mr Daghlas said preventing similar devastation in Nablus is a key priority and that authorities in Ramallah are taking unpleasant but necessary measures to achieve that, even if it means working with Israel's military to suppress militants, who many Palestinians view as powerful symbols of their resistance. 'We tell our people that this current [Israeli] government has only destruction as its ideology,' he said. 'That's why I keep telling them that in order to prevent destruction we have to keep the governorate peaceful and stable. No militant should be able to drag our governorate into war." Mr Daghlas welcomed the biggest outcome from the meeting, the creation of the position of vice president of the PLO, which was given to long-time Abbas confidante Hussein Al Sheikh. 'The creation of the vice president position was a Palestinian decision, in a Palestinian institution that is led by Palestinians,' Mr Daghlas said. 'Hussein Al Sheikh is a strong figure and understands the situation. He has his expertise. He will help Abbas and he will help Palestinian institutions." Few Palestinians share this positive view of Mr Al Sheikh, who is widely perceived as a symbol of the worst excesses of PA complicity with the occupier, in particular through co-ordination between Palestinian security forces and Israel, which happens a great deal in Nablus. Mr Al Sheikh is widely believed to be the Palestinian official with the highest level of contact with Israel's security world and its US backers. Commentator and former Israeli military international spokesman Jonathan Conricus told The National that while Mr Al Sheikh is 'perhaps the best-known senior who has the most face time with Israeli and American officials", his vast unpopularity among Palestinians is a major challenge for the PA. 'I think his personal brand is on the extreme in terms of how much he is loathed and despised by Palestinians for being corrupt or an Israeli collaborator. That probably isn't going to be very useful for the PA,' he added. 'Hussein Al Sheikh is another nail in the casket of that corruption and poor governance.' Back in Al Ain, as young boys scrambled through a graveyard below the office that Israeli troops stormed in an earlier raid, Mr Shamma, still cautious, eventually gave his most direct words on the matter: 'The leadership always changes, but in the end what is really needed are only the rights of the people.'
