Human Rights Minister Horriah Mashhour has banned the consumption of qat, a semi-narcotic plant, within hours of work inside Human Rights Ministry.
The minister called on its Facebook account the ministry's employees to consume raisin, almonds and tea instead of qat.
Yemeni civil society organizations and activists praised the decision of the minister, calling on other public and private institutions to follow suit.
Yemeni activists rallied before the parliament last week, demanding to issue a law that bans qat in state institutions, stressing that Qat is a great threat to Yemen's development socially, economically and environmentally.
Qat is consuming a huge percentage of Yemen's water, when many experts predict that Yemen will be the first country in the world to run out of water in the near future.
Many farmers, who used to grow wheat, apricots, sorghum and more, have turned to growing qat as they gain more money from growing qat.
Yemeni activists asserts that reducing Qat consumption could yield a significant improvement in economic and social well-being of the Yemeni people.
Doctors affirm that about 30 percent of the cancer patients in Yemen has link to `qat’ as well as the heavy use of a chewing tobacco known as ‘shamma’.
Though Qat is classified by the World Health Organization as a drug of abuse, it is chewed by the majority of Yemeni men and women for hours, almost daily.
Most global countries bans qat and classify it among narcotic materials, but the plant is largely used in Yemen and some African states.