Saudi divorces his wife because he found a CIGARETTE in her handbag

A Saudi husband divorced his wife three months after they married because he found a cigarette in her bag.The unnamed man, from the southern Saudi city of Jizan, was so furious at the discovery he immediately filed for divorce.It is believed the woman, who maintains the cigarette was not hers and that she does not smoke, has since attempted to change her husband's mind.Relatives from both sides have also intervened to amend the situation, some reports claim.However, any attempts at a reconciliation have so far failed as the man is said to be convinced the cigarette did belong to his wife.Around 600,000 women smoke cigarettes in Saudi Arabia, official figures show. They make up a tenth of the total smoking population - which is a estimated at six million.The figure includes around 800,000 teenagers - mainly intermediate and high school students - and expatriates.Last year a Saudi judge ruled that women who suffered as a result of their husbands’ smoking were allowed to file for divorce.In October 2012, Saudi judges set a new trend in the country by using cigarette smoking as a factor in child custody cases. 'A parent could now lose the custody case if he or she is proven to be a smoker,' a legal official told Gulf News. 'Under the emerging trend, the smoking factor is now being treated like the drinking factor and can decide the outcome of the custody case,' he said.The court would favour non-smoking parents and would factor smoking into custody cases to protect the child from the negative impact of passive smoking.A study in the western city of Madinah found that 40 per cent of Saudi university female graduates would not marry husbands who smoked. The young women said they did not want to 'marry themselves into a smoking home' as they would fear for the future of their husbands and children.(dailymail.co.uk)ANN.Az