There are many reasons to quit smoking – physical, social, financial and more – but when it comes to deciding when to pull the plug on the habit, smokers often say there is never a perfect time. However, health experts believe Ramadan is as good a time as any and cite myriad reasons.
“Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, personal growth and strengthening well-being,” says Dr Grace Fabrizia Graziani, a family medicine specialist at Aster Royal Clinic. “It can also be a powerful opportunity to break free from smoking.”
Dr Harkirat Singh Wilkhoo, a specialist in homeopathy and lifestyle medicine at RAK Hospital, adds: “Fasting and abstaining from smoking for an average 13 hours a day is a good resistance for the mind and body. Ramadan is about self-control and discipline, which makes it a perfect chance to stop smoking for good.”
With the addition of a little willpower, the experts believe those wishing to quit smoking can utilise the new habits and routines that are a part of this time of year and emerge from Ramadan well on their way to a smoke-free life.
How Ramadan can help
The built-in break that comes with fasting “disrupts your smoking routine and reduces your body’s dependence on nicotine, giving you a head start”, notes Dr Graziani.
“There’s also inner strength. Ramadan emphasises self-discipline, which can translate to resisting cigarette cravings. Quitters can also rely on community support with many mosques offering programmes aimed explicitly at quitting smoking during this time. This sense of shared goals can be a huge motivator.”
When fasting hours come to an end, Dr Graziani says it is important to prepare for the cravings. He recommends waiting 30 minutes after breaking fast before thinking about smoking.
Engage in activities you enjoy, such as spending time with family, reading a Quran chapter, or volunteer work
Dr Grace Fabrizia Graziani,
family medicine specialist, Aster Royal Clinic
Cravings are often strongest after eating but, according to Dr Wilkhoo, they will fade away if you persevere. For those quitting gradually, he advises trying to extend the length of time between eating and smoking each day. When the fasting day ends, he suggests reaching for water instead of cigarettes, vapes or shisha, as hydrating can help combat the urge to smoke.
“Eating food that fights nicotine cravings, such as ginger, basil and cayenne pepper, as well as drinking chilled water, helps to divert the mind,” says Dr Wilkhoo. “Hobbies such as painting, reading, singing, gardening and pet care allow for mental diversion and will keep you busy. Supportive friends also play a strong role in keeping smoking at bay.”
Dr Graziani adds. “Engage in activities you enjoy, such as spending time with family, reading a Quran chapter, or volunteer work.”
The experts at Go Smoke Free also recommend sucking on cinnamon sticks instead of cigarettes and drinking herbal tea.
Understanding your habits
“I admit I tried to give up smoking last Ramadan, but found that I couldn’t make it stick,” says IT specialist Daniel El-Khoury, 44. “It was more of a last-minute decision, which I don’t think helped. Obviously, I had the physical cravings, but I also found I was more affected by the social cravings, such as when everyone was having shisha or smoking after iftar, and I wanted to join in.”
He adds: “I’m going to try again this year, but the difference is I feel a lot more prepared this time around.”
Experts say understanding why an individual smokes can help them quit and take the necessary steps to anticipate and counter the triggers that lead to lighting up. “Take time to reflect on why you smoke,” says Dr Graziani. “Is it for social connection, stress relief, or boredom? Identifying your triggers can help you develop healthier coping mechanisms.”
Relaxation techniques such as yoga, deep breathing or meditation can increase your ability to stay calm
Dr Neha Solanki,
pulmonologist, Cleveland Clinic
Cravings, emotionally, physically and psychologically, can influence how easy someone may find it to quit, says Cleveland Clinic pulmonologist Dr Neha Solanki.
In heavy smokers, the cravings can start as soon as half an hour after their last cigarette, she says. The effects of nicotine withdrawal can include insomnia, irritability, an increase in appetite and headaches, Dr Solanki notes. Quitters may also experience anxiety.
“A lot of people smoke to help calm anxiety and deal with stress,” adds Dr Solanki. “Relaxation techniques such as yoga, deep breathing or meditation can boost your parasympathetic response. This helps diminish your anxiety, increases your level of focus and your ability to stay calm.”
Do nicotine patches break your fast?
The Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities Department has decreed that wearing nicotine patches while fasting is permitted, noting that “they are not nutritious and the substances in it are absorbed through the skin and blood and not through an opening in the body”.
Experts also say those wishing to stop should take into account their personal traits and personality type. For instance, while some might find it beneficial to quit overnight, others prefer to stop gradually.
There are plenty of nicotine replacement medications, patches and gum available through doctors or at the pharmacy, although chewing nicotine gum would not be permitted during fasting hours.
“For some people, cold turkey is the only way to go,” says Dr Solanki. “But for others, this method is just too difficult. It’s hard to break the ritual of smoking.”
Setting a “quit date” – such as the midway through Ramadan – can help those who wish to stop gradually.
Dr Solanki adds: “Often, people will start with nicotine replacement therapy. For example, nicotine patches replace the nicotine from cigarettes and help treat the urge. Over time, we slowly taper down the amount of nicotine in the patches you get.”
Studies have shown that whether someone stops gradually or immediately, the end health results are the same.
“Ramadan can be a turning point in your journey to a smoke-free life,” says Dr Graziani. “By using these tips, seeking professional support from your doctor, and working on the underlying reasons why you smoke, you can achieve lasting change.”
The Dark Blue Winter Overcoat & Other Stories From the North
Edited and Introduced by Sjón and Ted Hodgkinson
Pushkin Press
Ammar 808:
Maghreb United
Sofyann Ben Youssef
Glitterbeat
Last-16
France 4
Griezmann (13' pen), Pavard (57'), Mbappe (64', 68')
Argentina 3
Di Maria (41'), Mercado (48'), Aguero (90 3')
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Libya's Gold
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Australia (15-1): Israel Folau; Dane Haylett-Petty, Reece Hodge, Kurtley Beale, Marika Koroibete; Bernard Foley, Will Genia; David Pocock, Michael Hooper (capt), Lukhan Tui; Adam Coleman, Izack Rodda; Sekope Kepu, Tatafu Polota-Nau, Tom Robertson.
Replacements: Tolu Latu, Allan Alaalatoa, Taniela Tupou, Rob Simmons, Pete Samu, Nick Phipps, Matt Toomua, Jack Maddocks.
UAE jiu-jitsu squad
Men: Hamad Nawad and Khalid Al Balushi (56kg), Omar Al Fadhli and Saeed Al Mazroui (62kg), Taleb Al Kirbi and Humaid Al Kaabi (69kg), Mohammed Al Qubaisi and Saud Al Hammadi (70kg), Khalfan Belhol and Mohammad Haitham Radhi (85kg), Faisal Al Ketbi and Zayed Al Kaabi (94kg)
Women: Wadima Al Yafei and Mahra Al Hanaei (49kg), Bashayer Al Matrooshi and Hessa Al Shamsi (62kg)
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Who is Mohammed Al Halbousi?
The new speaker of Iraq’s parliament Mohammed Al Halbousi is the youngest person ever to serve in the role.
The 37-year-old was born in Al Garmah in Anbar and studied civil engineering in Baghdad before going into business. His development company Al Hadeed undertook reconstruction contracts rebuilding parts of Fallujah’s infrastructure.
He entered parliament in 2014 and served as a member of the human rights and finance committees until 2017. In August last year he was appointed governor of Anbar, a role in which he has struggled to secure funding to provide services in the war-damaged province and to secure the withdrawal of Shia militias. He relinquished the post when he was sworn in as a member of parliament on September 3.
He is a member of the Al Hal Sunni-based political party and the Sunni-led Coalition of Iraqi Forces, which is Iraq’s largest Sunni alliance with 37 seats from the May 12 election.
He maintains good relations with former Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki’s State of Law Coaliton, Hadi Al Amiri’s Badr Organisation and Iranian officials.
'The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas are Setting up a Generation for Failure'
Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt, Penguin Randomhouse
Sheikh Zayed's poem
When it is unveiled at Abu Dhabi Art, the Standing Tall exhibition will appear as an interplay of poetry and art. The 100 scarves are 100 fragments surrounding five, figurative, female sculptures, and both sculptures and scarves are hand-embroidered by a group of refugee women artisans, who used the Palestinian cross-stitch embroidery art of tatreez. Fragments of Sheikh Zayed’s poem Your Love is Ruling My Heart, written in Arabic as a love poem to his nation, are embroidered onto both the sculptures and the scarves. Here is the English translation.
Your love is ruling over my heart
Your love is ruling over my heart, even a mountain can’t bear all of it
Woe for my heart of such a love, if it befell it and made it its home
You came on me like a gleaming sun, you are the cure for my soul of its sickness
Be lenient on me, oh tender one, and have mercy on who because of you is in ruins
You are like the Ajeed Al-reem [leader of the gazelle herd] for my country, the source of all of its knowledge
You waddle even when you stand still, with feet white like the blooming of the dates of the palm
Oh, who wishes to deprive me of sleep, the night has ended and I still have not seen you
You are the cure for my sickness and my support, you dried my throat up let me go and damp it
Help me, oh children of mine, for in his love my life will pass me by.
Coming soon
Torno Subito by Massimo Bottura
When the W Dubai – The Palm hotel opens at the end of this year, one of the highlights will be Massimo Bottura’s new restaurant, Torno Subito, which promises “to take guests on a journey back to 1960s Italy”. It is the three Michelinstarred chef’s first venture in Dubai and should be every bit as ambitious as you would expect from the man whose restaurant in Italy, Osteria Francescana, was crowned number one in this year’s list of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants.
Akira Back Dubai
Another exciting opening at the W Dubai – The Palm hotel is South Korean chef Akira Back’s new restaurant, which will continue to showcase some of the finest Asian food in the world. Back, whose Seoul restaurant, Dosa, won a Michelin star last year, describes his menu as, “an innovative Japanese cuisine prepared with a Korean accent”.
Dinner by Heston Blumenthal
The highly experimental chef, whose dishes are as much about spectacle as taste, opens his first restaurant in Dubai next year. Housed at The Royal Atlantis Resort & Residences, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal will feature contemporary twists on recipes that date back to the 1300s, including goats’ milk cheesecake. Always remember with a Blumenthal dish: nothing is quite as it seems.
Roger Federer's 2018 record
Australian Open Champion
Rotterdam Champion
Indian Wells Runner-up
Miami Second round
Stuttgart Champion
Halle Runner-up
Wimbledon Quarter-finals
Cincinnati Runner-up
US Open Fourth round
Shanghai Semi-finals
Basel Champion
Paris Masters Semi-finals
The Transfiguration
Director: Michael O’Shea
Starring: Eric Ruffin, Chloe Levine
Three stars
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SPECS
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Info
What: 11th edition of the Mubadala World Tennis Championship
When: December 27-29, 2018
Confirmed: men: Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Kevin Anderson, Dominic Thiem, Hyeon Chung, Karen Khachanov; women: Venus Williams
Tickets: www.ticketmaster.ae, Virgin megastores or call 800 86 823
Gulf Men's League final
Dubai Hurricanes 24-12 Abu Dhabi Harlequins
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Tributes from the UAE's personal finance community
• Sebastien Aguilar, who heads SimplyFI.org, a non-profit community where people learn to invest Bogleheads’ style
“It is thanks to Jack Bogle’s work that this community exists and thanks to his work that many investors now get the full benefits of long term, buy and hold stock market investing.
Compared to the industry, investing using the common sense approach of a Boglehead saves a lot in costs and guarantees higher returns than the average actively managed fund over the long term.
From a personal perspective, learning how to invest using Bogle’s approach was a turning point in my life. I quickly realised there was no point chasing returns and paying expensive advisers or platforms. Once money is taken care off, you can work on what truly matters, such as family, relationships or other projects. I owe Jack Bogle for that.”
• Sam Instone, director of financial advisory firm AES International
"Thought to have saved investors over a trillion dollars, Jack Bogle’s ideas truly changed the way the world invests. Shaped by his own personal experiences, his philosophy and basic rules for investors challenged the status quo of a self-interested global industry and eventually prevailed. Loathed by many big companies and commission-driven salespeople, he has transformed the way well-informed investors and professional advisers make decisions."
• Demos Kyprianou, a board member of SimplyFI.org
"Jack Bogle for me was a rebel, a revolutionary who changed the industry and gave the little guy like me, a chance. He was also a mentor who inspired me to take the leap and take control of my own finances."
• Steve Cronin, founder of DeadSimpleSaving.com
"Obsessed with reducing fees, Jack Bogle structured Vanguard to be owned by its clients – that way the priority would be fee minimisation for clients rather than profit maximisation for the company.
His real gift to us has been the ability to invest in the stock market (buy and hold for the long term) rather than be forced to speculate (try to make profits in the shorter term) or even worse have others speculate on our behalf.
Bogle has given countless investors the ability to get on with their life while growing their wealth in the background as fast as possible. The Financial Independence movement would barely exist without this."
• Zach Holz, who blogs about financial independence at The Happiest Teacher
"Jack Bogle was one of the greatest forces for wealth democratisation the world has ever seen. He allowed people a way to be free from the parasitical "financial advisers" whose only real concern are the fat fees they get from selling you over-complicated "products" that have caused millions of people all around the world real harm.”
• Tuan Phan, a board member of SimplyFI.org
"In an industry that’s synonymous with greed, Jack Bogle was a lone wolf, swimming against the tide. When others were incentivised to enrich themselves, he stood by the ‘fiduciary’ standard – something that is badly needed in the financial industry of the UAE."
Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000
Available: Now
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
'The worst thing you can eat'
Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.
Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:
Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.
Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.
Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.
Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.
Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
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Venue: Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Date: Sunday, November 25
Guide to intelligent investing
Investing success often hinges on discipline and perspective. As markets fluctuate, remember these guiding principles:
- Stay invested: Time in the market, not timing the market, is critical to long-term gains.
- Rational thinking: Breathe and avoid emotional decision-making; let logic and planning guide your actions.
- Strategic patience: Understand why you’re investing and allow time for your strategies to unfold.
Armies of Sand
By Kenneth Pollack (Oxford University Press)
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
