Egyptian actress Mina Shalabi encountered an embarrassing situation during her recent visit to Saudi Arabia to attend the ‘Saudi Forum for the Unity of Arab Countries in the Fight against Aids’ as a number of Saudis reprimanded her for smoking in the lobby of the hotel she was staying at. In addition a number of the attendees of the forum were irritated by Mina’s constant smoking as she walked around the hotel and the centers where medical tests were being performed.
A number of people tried to get her attention to the inappropriateness of her actions, but she ignored all attempts and began talking about her smoking habit and how it became an addiction.
Many considered Mina’s refusal to keep her smoking habit a private one and done in her room a sign of stubbornness on her part and saw her actions as a sign of disrespect to the Saudi Ministry of Health that was sponsoring the event and a very active member in the anti-smoking campaign.
