Jordan has the most tobacco company interference in policymaking in the world after Japan, according to a 2019 analysis by a civil society group. “Big tobacco is preying on our countries, wanting to really own the lungs of our youth,” says Princess Dina Mired, the president of the Union for International Cancer Control and a member of the country’s royal family. “And they are doing so successfully.”

Many in government do not see a problem. Smoking is not even banned in the Jordanian parliament. When lawmakers tried to do so in 2004, a report in the Jordan Times says they had to reverse the decision as meetings started losing quorum because too many MPs were outside have a cigarette.

Those who push to implement the same anti-smoking laws that have been effective overseas say they are warned of the financial impact in a country where tobacco taxes make up 18% of annual revenues – and probably a larger share now with Covid-19 paralysing Jordan’s lucrative tourism industry.