SHARJAH // Sultan, 16, has been smoking his medwakh pipe every day for two years, and has no trouble buying the dokha needed for the rush he craves.
“I smoke medwakh. I like to smoke it because it usually takes one puff to make me light-headed,” said Sultan, a public school pupil. “I’ve been smoking for more than two years and all of my friends smoke it too.
“We buy medwakh pipes and dokha from any tobacco shop. No one asks for IDs.”
Sultan is one of a growing number of youngsters who are sold dokha from shops in Dubai and Sharjah.
Teenagers are turning to the traditional form of Arabic tobacco – sold in small bundles – as laws governing the sale of cigarettes and shisha have been tightened, with shops facing hefty fines if they sell to people under 18. Selling medwakh and dokha to minors is also illegal.
But Younes, 14, said he regularly visited shops in both emirates and was sold dokha for Dh25-Dh40, and pipes for Dh50, without hesitation.
Shopkeepers say dokha is popular among youngsters because it is cheap and lasts longer than cigarettes.
“A pack of cigarettes lasts one day. But dokha can last for two weeks,” said a shopkeeper in Jamal Abdul Nasser Street, Sharjah.
He said he had no qualms about selling to teenagers because his dokha was of a high quality and “100 per cent pure Arabic tobacco”.
Despite government efforts to help people to kick the habit, the number of smokers shows no sign of decreasing.
Almost 30 per cent of Emiratis in their 30s smoke with medwakh, figures from a health-screening programme last year in Abu Dhabi found.
Thabet Al Torasi, director general of Sharjah Municipal Council, said teenager smokers often took up the habit because of peer pressure.
“This is a big problem,” Mr Al Torasi said. “One of the main reasons why smoking dokha is thriving among teenagers is that some people plant dokha indoors and sell it illicitly, besides shopkeepers who sell medwakh pipes to adolescents illegally.”
To stop youngsters starting the habit, all groceries in residential areas and near schools in Sharjah were banned from selling cigarettes in 2013.
Nationwide, smoking is banned in cars in the presence of children under 12, in houses of worship, educational institutes and health or sports centres; and the sale of sweets resembling tobacco products is prohibited.
But Mr Al Torasi said enforcement could not simply begin and end with the authorities.
“Such action requires collaborative effort,” he said. “It starts with parents, who should teach their children about the harmful effects of smoking and keep an eye on them to monitor their activities.
“I suggest stricter regulations and punishments against those who sell tobacco to teenagers and teens who buy it.”
Alaa Al Halli, a teacher at Al Noor Private School in Sharjah, said at least one in five teenagers smoked a medwakh pipe.
“Smoking dokha gained popularity among teens for many reasons, including its cheap price and lack of knowledge about its harmful effects,” Ms Al Halli said.
“Teenagers want to try everything. They believe that smoking medwakh is less harmful than other tobacco products, which is wrong.”
Dr Mohammed Al Dasouqi, who heads an anti-smoking clinic in Dubai, said one of the main reasons smoking dokha was thriving among teens was because many of them saw their parents doing it.
He said the amount of nicotine in dokha is much higher than in cigarettes.
“It’s even called dokha because it makes whoever smokes it feel dizzy,” Dr Al Dasouqi said.
Dr Babu Shersad of First Medical Centre said smoking a mewakh pipe led to higher doses of nicotine, which does long-term damage.
“Smoking affects the lungs and affects cardiovascular health because it thickens blood vessels, causing high blood pressure, which can affect the heart,” Dr Shersad
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Which products are to be taxed?
To be taxed:
Flavoured water, long-life fruit juice concentrates, pre-packaged sweetened coffee drinks fall under the ‘sweetened drink’ category
Not taxed
Freshly squeezed fruit juices, ground coffee beans, tea leaves and pre-prepared flavoured milkshakes do not come under the ‘sweetened drink’ band.
Products excluded from the ‘sweetened drink’ category would contain at least 75 per cent milk in a ready-to-drink form or as a milk substitute, baby formula, follow-up formula or baby food, beverages consumed for medicinal use and special dietary needs determined as per GCC Standardisation Organisation rules
Key changes
Commission caps
For life insurance products with a savings component, Peter Hodgins of Clyde & Co said different caps apply to the saving and protection elements:
• For the saving component, a cap of 4.5 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 90 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• On the protection component, there is a cap of 10 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 160 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• Indemnity commission, the amount of commission that can be advanced to a product salesperson, can be 50 per cent of the annualised premium for the first year or 50 per cent of the total commissions on the policy calculated.
• The remaining commission after deduction of the indemnity commission is paid equally over the premium payment term.
• For pure protection products, which only offer a life insurance component, the maximum commission will be 10 per cent of the annualised premium multiplied by the length of the policy in years.
Disclosure
Customers must now be provided with a full illustration of the product they are buying to ensure they understand the potential returns on savings products as well as the effects of any charges. There is also a “free-look” period of 30 days, where insurers must provide a full refund if the buyer wishes to cancel the policy.
“The illustration should provide for at least two scenarios to illustrate the performance of the product,” said Mr Hodgins. “All illustrations are required to be signed by the customer.”
Another illustration must outline surrender charges to ensure they understand the costs of exiting a fixed-term product early.
Illustrations must also be kept updatedand insurers must provide information on the top five investment funds available annually, including at least five years' performance data.
“This may be segregated based on the risk appetite of the customer (in which case, the top five funds for each segment must be provided),” said Mr Hodgins.
Product providers must also disclose the ratio of protection benefit to savings benefits. If a protection benefit ratio is less than 10 per cent "the product must carry a warning stating that it has limited or no protection benefit" Mr Hodgins added.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
What vitamins do we know are beneficial for living in the UAE
Vitamin D: Highly relevant in the UAE due to limited sun exposure; supports bone health, immunity and mood.
Vitamin B12: Important for nerve health and energy production, especially for vegetarians, vegans and individuals with absorption issues.
Iron: Useful only when deficiency or anaemia is confirmed; helps reduce fatigue and support immunity.
Omega-3 (EPA/DHA): Supports heart health and reduces inflammation, especially for those who consume little fish.
The Vines - In Miracle Land
Two stars
