Last harvest for Hatta tobacco crop

HATTA, UAE (The National) Among a dozen tins lining the wall of a tobacco shop in the town centre here, one bears the word "Hattawi", scrawled in calligraphy across its front. It is a blend named after an area that has been a centre of tobacco production for centuries. But the container could soon be empty, forever.
Dokha, a ground tobacco traditionally smoked in a thin pipe, has become popular among teenagers, a trend that has alarmed the Government. In response, and in an effort to reduce all forms of smoking, officials banned commercial tobacco farming about a year ago. Continued

Photo: Dokha (Earle Martin, some rights reserved).