JEDDAH: Prices of cigarettes and energy drinks have doubled with the implementation of an excise tax that became effective midnight Saturday in a measure unprecedented in the Kingdom.
The excise tax, commonly known as a “sin tax,” is imposed on “unhealthy products” that are likely to cause health problems and eventually increase medical expenses paid by individuals or the government, according to the General Authority of Zakat and Tax (GAZT) official website.
“We’ve communicated with the business sector and have set up many workshops to introduce the selective tax both at the GAZT and the Chamber of Commerce,” Mohannad Al-Madi, who handles public relations for the GAZT, told Arab News.
A few days prior to the implementation, some smokers struggled to find boxes of their usual cigarettes. Consumers attempted to stock up on cigarettes at their pre-tax price, while suppliers were trying to keep the products off the shelves until the prices rose.
“I went to several shops yesterday to buy the type of cigarettes I usually smoke. It was nowhere to be found,” Abdulghafour Ahmed, a middle-aged man who started smoking when he was 18, told Arab News.
Soft drinks were being placed on an empty shelf at one of the main supermarkets in Jeddah that Arab News visited Sunday afternoon. “There was nothing here yesterday,” the shelf stacker said, pointing at the shelf. “Yesterday, the price was normal. But today, a soft drink can is SR2.25 ($0.60).”
This price of a 355ml can of a soft drink matched that of another supermarket Arab News visited. The second supermarket had also kept the newly taxed drinks away from customers so they are sold 50 percent higher in price in the case of soft drinks, and double the price for energy drinks.
Consumers will now pay SR12 at one supermarket for a 250ml can of a popular taurine drink, which is priced at SR11.90 at another supermarket. Aside from tags of doubled priced energy drinks, a new sign has been posted on market shelves stating: “Energy drinks harmful to health.” The full warning matches the text on beverage cans.
The warning, written in English and Arabic, reads: “This product does not have any health benefits. Consuming more than two cans a day may negatively affect your health.” The warning mainly targets individuals under 16 years old, pregnant women, who are breastfeeding, people with heart conditions, individuals with high blood pressure or diabetes, people allergic to caffeine and athletes while exercising.
The tax authority urged producers and suppliers of taxable goods to register for the excise tax, the GAZT official website stated.
The statement read: “The GAZT has stated that every person who possesses excise tax goods should file a return for the transitional period starting Sunday (June 11) and pay accordingly within 45 days, to avoid being subject to legal penalties and fines.”
The taxing body expects to lower consumption by people with limited income of the taxed products after the price hike.
Yet Faizan Haider, a Jeddah-based Pakistani national working at a travel agency, said he would rather cut down on his food purchases than quit smoking.
“I will spend less on fast food and other stuff, but cannot quit smoking,” he told Arab News.
Haider, who has been in Saudi Arabia for 24 years, said that he was “disappointed” that the government has raised taxes on tobacco, “which is pointless.”
Regular smoker and energy-drinks lover 25-year-old Salma Walid, said the move would not make her quit.
“It’s an extra strain on the pocket, but it’s a habit that I can’t just quit or cut down on,” she said.
Walid bought her last pack of the cigarettes she smokes for SR12 one day before the tax into effect. Now it is SR24.
Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries are also set to implement a value-added tax (VAT) of 5 percent on certain goods beginning in 2018.
New tax doubles price of cigarettes, energy drinks in Saudi Arabia
New tax doubles price of cigarettes, energy drinks in Saudi Arabia
Japanese orchestra meets video gaming in Riyadh
- Japanese orchestra meets video gaming in Riyadh
RIYADH: What does video gaming and the orchestra have in common? Collaboration, immersive experiences, and the art of storytelling at its finest.
The world-renowned Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra spoiled guests with two nights of concerts powered by Qiddiya Gaming at Princess Nourah University’s Red Hall on Thursday and Friday.
Producer and director of Final Fantasy XIV Naoki Yoshida and renowned sound editor and composer Masayoshi Soken took the opportunity to introduce themselves to a full house of fans, wearing traditional Saudi thobes.
Arab News had the opportunity to interview Yoshida, Soken, senior story designer Natsuko Ishikawa, and localization supervisor Michael-Christopher Koji Fox.
Yoshida expressed his gratitude toward the game’s loyal fans in the Middle East, saying: “I’m really appreciative of the fans in the Middle East and Saudi Arabia that have loved the Final Fantasy franchise.
“We are finally here to give back to the community that’s loved us and supported us for so long. To be able to bring them the excitement, we are bringing them sound and music.
“We don’t envision this as the end; we envision this as something that’s going to connect us into the future.”
In the first part of the concert, the orchestra performed works like “Victory Fanfare” and “Moebius.”
In order to give gamers a true gaming experience, Soken had the idea of creating the same in-game pause during the orchestra’s performance to reflect the battle in the game.
Soken said: “During that battle, there’s an in-game mechanic where time stops and the player stops, so when playing that song in concert we want the players to feel like that in music; the game experience and their memories of the game are connected in that way.
“We wanted to figure out a way to recreate that time stop while being played in the concert by an orchestra. So the idea we came up with is if time stops in the game, how about making the concert stop?”
Soken’s idea was turned into reality and the crowd was in awe as the orchestra paused for a few seconds.
In charge of creating graphics and videos, Ishikawa said her job was about picking scenes that resonated with the players.
She said: “What we created here feels like it was created by the Final Fantasy development team, even though it’s a concert.”
Unlike a typical concert, in which each song evokes different emotions to each individual, Soken said gaming concerts created a joint emotional experience.
Soken said: “With a game concert, everyone is experiencing the same thing because they experienced the same game, so everyone shares that excitement.”
More than 100 musicians traveled from Japan, accompanied by vocalists, to bring the soundtrack from Final Fantasy XIV to life.
Soken said: “We know that Saudi Arabia and Japan have a long history of friendly collaboration but there has not been a lot with music, and there’s probably been nothing with gaming music.
“The people that experience (the concert) will be able to go home and tell their friends how exciting an experience it was and how these people from Japan brought this great thing that we have never seen before.”
The event also offered fans a dedicated merchandise area featuring exclusive items and other products shipped directly from Tokyo.
Diamond ticket holders also had the opportunity to meet Yoshida, Soken, Ishikawa, and Fox, receiving a signed poster and photo.
With over 30 million total registered players, Final Fantasy XIV is one of the most popular MMORPG games today, while Qiddiya, which was launched in 2018 under the leadership of King Salman, is an emerging capital for entertainment, sports and culture that aims to enhance the quality of life of visitors and residents.
Saudi Heart Association teams up with Bayer to enhance cardiac care
- Partnership aims to educate Saudi healthcare professionals on cardiovascular disease
- Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death worldwide and in Saudi Arabia
RIYADH: The Saudi Heart Association has entered a partnership with healthcare leader Bayer to enhance cardiac care and educate Saudi healthcare professionals on cardiovascular disease to reduce mortality and improve heart health.
“We are proud to announce a new partnership between Bayer and the SHA aimed at advancing cardiovascular care in Saudi Arabia, focusing on improving early detection and prevention of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease,” Bayer, a global leader in life sciences with a strong emphasis on healthcare and nutrition, posted on X.
“The goal of the partnership is to strengthen bilateral cooperation to improve cardiac care in Saudi Arabia in alignment with Vision 2030. The agreement will prioritize early detection of at-risk patients of cardiovascular diseases who exhibit a combination of modifiable risk factors (such as hypertension, smoking, poor diet, physical inactivity, high cholesterol) and non-modifiable risk factors (such as age, family history, gender, and genetic predisposition),” a statement from Bayer said.
CVDs are a major health concern globally. In 2016, more than 200,000 Saudi citizens were living with CVD and the current prevalence of CVD in Saudi Arabia is expected to be significantly higher, given the rise of CVD risk factors in the country (obesity, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, hypertension and others).
Saudi Vision 2030 aims to reduce the clinical and economic burden of CVD and scale up vitality and longevity in a new era of comprehensive healthcare.
From a health economics standpoint, CVDs are a burden on healthcare systems directly through expenditure and indirectly through years living with the disease, low productivity, premature morbidity and mortality.
Under the terms of the partnership, Bayer and the SHA will seek to advance educational initiatives for healthcare professionals in Saudi Arabia, with a focus on the primary prevention of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.
Throughout the partnership, emphasis will be on delivering educational lectures and hands-on workshops for healthcare professionals, introducing them to the latest diagnostic tools that streamline early CVD detection in a cost-effective manner.
Additionally, the partnership will promote evidence-based early risk management local guidelines and strategies in clinical practice, aligning resources to achieve superior patient outcomes.
Elaborating on the partnership, Maged ElShazly, managing director, Bayer Saudi Arabia, and country commercial lead for Bayer Consumer Health, said: “This partnership marks a significant step forward in advancing cardiovascular health in the Kingdom. Aligned with Saudi Vision 2030, our goal is to collaborate closely with the SHA to support the government’s efforts in reducing CVD mortality and morbidity, improving heart health, and enhancing the quality of life for individuals at high risk.
“Additionally, this collaboration with SHA will further propel our efforts to develop and implement local guidelines for effective CVD management, ensuring long-term impact and sustainability in healthcare practices across the Kingdom,” ElShazly said.
Bayer will support SHA with two main initiatives — a key opinion leaders’ engagement campaign to promote early CVD risk management among healthcare professionals and a media campaign to raise public awareness about CVD risk factors, early detection, and prevention strategies.
KSrelief’s Masam Project clears 840 mines
- The Masam team successfully cleared four unexploded ordnances in Zinjibar
- The team successfully removed 14 unexploded ordnances from Al-Waht district
ADEN: The Masam Project, an initiative launched by the Saudi aid agency KSrelief, successfully dismantled 840 mines across various regions of Yemen during the third week of November, including 29 anti-personnel mines, 129 anti-tank mines, and 682 unexploded ordnances.
The Masam team successfully cleared four unexploded ordnances in Zinjibar in the Abyan Governorate, and 162 in Aden Governorate. Two anti-tank mines in Al-Khawkhah and one unexploded ordnance in Hays, in Al-Hudaydah Governorate, were also removed. The team cleared one anti-personnel mine and one unexploded ordnance in the Qataba district of Al-Dhale Governorate.
The team successfully removed 14 unexploded ordnances from Al-Waht district and 22 from Al-Madaribah in Lahj Governorate, while in Marib Governorate four unexploded ordnances were cleared in the Al-Wadi district, along with 12 anti-personnel mines and 120 anti-tank mines in the Marib district.
Authorities enforce ban on non-compliant trucks
- This initiative reflects the authority’s commitment to regulating the sector
- Foreign trucks are restricted to transporting goods from abroad to designated delivery points
RIYADH: The Transport General Authority has announced the seizure of many foreign trucks found violating transportation regulations and legislation while transporting goods between cities in the Kingdom.
This initiative, undertaken in collaboration with relevant authorities, reflects the authority’s commitment to regulating the sector, promoting compliance, ensuring fair competition, enhancing the security and safety of transportation services, and preserving public resources and road infrastructure.
The authority said that the mechanism adopted to control foreign truck transport operations — in coordination with various government entities — prohibits traders, factories, importers, institutions and companies from contracting with non-Saudi vehicles.
Foreign trucks are restricted to transporting goods from abroad to designated delivery points in Saudi cities or on their way back to their country of origin. This return must originate from the same delivery point or from any city along the return route. Such operations also require a permit issued by the authority.
Saudi citizen wanted on suspicion of corruption extradited to Kingdom from Russia
- Abdullah bin Awadh Aydha Al-Harthi was wanted on suspicion of financial and administrative corruption crimes
RIYADH: A Saudi citizen suspected of corruption crimes has been extradited back to the Kingdom from Russia, the Oversight and Anti-Corruption Authority, Nazaha, announced on Friday.
Abdullah bin Awadh Aydha Al-Harthi was wanted on suspicion of financial and administrative corruption crimes, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
The transfer was carried out as part of a memorandum of understanding between Nazaha and Russia’s Public Prosecution, and “underscores the strong commitment of both nations to uphold the rule of law and promote international cooperation in the fight against corruption,” SPA added.
Nazaha highlighted the role played by the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office in responding to its official request to extradite Al-Harthi and praised the support of the global Globe E Network and INTERPOL for its continued assistance in tracking individuals involved in corruption crimes and curtailing their safe havens.
Nazaha reaffirmed its resolve to pursue corrupt individuals both within and beyond the Kingdom’s borders, holding them accountable in accordance with Sharia and legal frameworks.
The authority said it remained steadfast in its mission to recover state funds and assets misappropriated through corruption, ensuring they are returned to the national treasury.
