Saturday, 1 May, 2021 - 04:45
An ashtray with cigarette butts. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth
Asharq Al-Awsat
Already saddled with one of the world's highest rates of smoking, Jordan has seen the numbers lighting up soar since coronavirus restrictions began last year, sparking fears of a double epidemic.
Mounir Shana, who sells hookah waterpipes in the capital Amman, was rarely seen without a cigarette dangling from his lips even before the crisis.
But draconian restrictions imposed by the government have increased his intake.
"I've been smoking more and more for the past year because of the psychological pressure of lockdowns," said 24-year-old Shana, lighting a fresh cigarette from the butt of his previous smoke as he talked.