According to a study conducted by Breathe, the percentage of women smokers is high in Lebanon and chronic lung obstruction affects 13 million people in the Arab world || Newspapers (Arabic)

An Nahar newspaper published a study conducted by Breathe on the prevalence of chronic lung obstruction and its main cause, chronic smoking.  The results were shared during a press conference organized by Glaxosmithkline (GSK) at the Phoenicia Hotel with the attendance of Dr. Asaad Khoury representing the Minister of Public Health.
The study indicated that the percentage of women smokers in Lebanon is higher and less than one third of the disease carriers have been diagnosed and of these, only one third are receiving treatment.  Chronic lung obstruction affects 13 million people in the Arab region and it affects the circulation of oxygen from and to the lungs.  The study notes that 5.3% of the Lebanese population aged 40 and above is affected by the disease compared to 3.6% for the Arab region as a whole.  This disease has resulted in 1000 medical consultation, 190 emergency admission and 175 cases of hospitalization every hour, in the Arab region.
In an interview with An Nahar, Prof. Marie Louise Konisky indicated that the outputs of this research will be released in the form of 8 papers which will be published by the medical journal Respiratory Medicine and will include data on smoking prevalence as well as information about the disease, its treatment, and its cost.

Source: Al-Nahar 13 December 2012