Health in Saudi Arabia

[4] Part of the reason for the high rate of overweight and obesity within the population are urban residents that consume hypercaloric foods while maintaining a sedentary lifestyle.

The less-than physically demanding lifestyle urban residents lead is linked to a high level of education and income.

[6] In June 2010, the Council of Ministers urged the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) to restrict smoking at all airports and their facilities in the Kingdom, and strict rules were imposed.

[8] In May 2012, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre in Riyadh banned people from smoking in and around its buildings, the first such move in the country.

On 30 July 2012, Interior Minister Prince Ahmed bin Abdulaziz ordered the implementation of a royal ban on smoking in all government facilities (ministries, buildings, institutions, offices etc.

[12] In 2019, Saudi Arabia received an award for fighting and preventing smoking in the 72nd session of the World Health Assembly.

[6] Another decision was made in 2019 that charges restaurants and cafes selling tobacco products an annual amount of $26,675.

In this context, Saudi Arabia aims to be a global leader in such a field, especially that cancer has become the first killer in the Middle East.

MERS or middle eastern respiratory syndrome related corona virus (MERS‐CoV) is a COVID-19 variant that effects primarily camels but can be transmitted to humans.

This is due to the young calf that may be clinically sick from MERS, leaving virus residue on the mother's udder.