Tunis: Higher Education and Scientific Research Minister Moncef Boukthir received the 2024 World No Tobacco Day award, during a ceremony held on Friday at the ministry's headquarters in the presence of officials from the WHO office in Tunis. Boukhthir indicated on the occasion, that this distinction rewards the efforts exerted by his department in combating smoking, following the publication by the Ministry in August 2023 of a circular banning smoking in all establishments under the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research. He pointed out the difficulties involved in achieving immediate and tangible results in combating smoking, one of the main causes of death in Tunisia, adding that the ministry's services are monitoring all the data with a view to applying this circular across all its establishments. 'The ban on smoking is mainly aimed at protecting everyone's health,' he asserted. 'The fact that some employees temporarily leave their posts to smoke in outdoor areas does not pose a problem, but the ministry is working hard to convince its staff to stop smoking for good,' he said. The preliminary results of the circular's application have been 'encouraging,' Boukthir said, adding that the initiative would be extended to all areas under the ministry's jurisdiction. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse