by Wael Naguib
CAIRO, July 4 (Xinhua) -- Standing in front of local and imported boxes of cigarettes in his shop near a bus station in Shubra El-khiema, Adel said Egyptians would not stop smoking even with the prices hikes.
"People will buy cigarettes no matter how high their prices will be," Adel said.
In May, Egypt's legislature approved a move to impose a new 40 percent price tax on imported cigarettes, excluding locally produced, popular cigarettes. Other kinds of tobacco products underwent a 100 percent tax.
According to a survey conducted by Egypt's Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization, about 40 percent of Egyptian adults aged between 25 and 46 were smokers. The country has about 13 million smokers out of its 80 million population.
The Egyptian government has been exerting strenuous efforts in cooperation with non-governmental organizations to curb smoking, a disconcerting habit spreading widely in the most populous Arab country.
"My sales dropped a little, but I know it will be raised again in the next few days," said Adel, adding that it happened when the government raised the prices before.
"The people then stopped buying cigarettes for a few days and restarted smoking again," said 19-year-old Mohammed Saeed, another shop owner in Cairo and also a heavy smoker.
