Daily Times

KARACHI: Health experts, on ‘World No Tobacco Day’, said that the government had failed to implement the existing anti-smoking laws in Pakistan.

Every year, May 31 is marked as ‘World No Tobacco Day (WNTD)’. This time WNTD was focused on the topic of “tobacco and heart disease”.

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) pose a grave public health concern as they kill more people than any other disease. According to World Health Organization (WHO) tobacco use is the foremost cause of deaths from CVDs.

The menace of tobacco engulfs 7 million lives annually worldwide. According to a report 108,800 people die in Pakistan only due to the use of tobacco. It also causes preventable diseases like Bronchitis, Diabetes, Hypertension, Atherosclerosis, Lungs Cancer and Laryngeal cancer.

In Pakistan, experts demanded an increase in the pictorial size of anti smoking warning on cigarette packets. They also urged the government to properly implement ‘Smoking Prohibition Law 2002’.

“80% of a cigarette packet should be covered with anti smoking pictorial warning. But unfortunately despite the continuous announcements of the ministry of National Health Services the pictorial warning on cigarette packet could not be increased from 40 to 50 percent in last four years,” a Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) statement said.

According to the issued statement, the minister for National Health Services Saira Afzal Tarar repeatedly announced an increase in the size of the pictorial warning on cigarette packets from 40 to 85 percent, but the warning size was not increased,” statement said.

The experts added that under ‘Smoking Prohibition Law 2002’ in Pakistan, smoking was prohibited at public places but the law was not implemented.

The experts also demanded that the sale of tobacco in any form (Cigarette, Chalia, Gutka,etc) be banned at the canteens of all educational institutions. They said that the sale of tobacco based products in vicinity of educational instutions also needed to be checked.

“Tobacco in any form should not be sold to under-18, but we never see the implementation of this law,” said Secretary General PMA Dr Qaisar Sajjad.

“PMA has always suggested that prices of cigarettes be increased to discourage people from smoking and decrease the overall sale of cigarettes,” Dr Sajjad continued “People will try to quit smoking when cigarette prices go up”

National Alliance for Tobacco Control (NATC) also raised serious concern on the delay in introducing large sized pictorial health warnings on cigarette packets.

NATC, during a meeting on ‘World No Tobacco Day’, observed that various countries had introduced large sized pictorial health warnings on cigarettes packs and this had helped reduce the burden of tobacco related morbidity and mortality in those countries.

“Increased taxation on tobacco products and a comprehensive ban on smoking in public places are two other strategies which, if implemented, can significantly help in controlling the tobacco epidemic in the country,” stated NATC Chair Javaid Khan.

Ali Zubairi, a pulmonologist said that while we had laws in place in Pakistan since 2002, no serious efforts had been made in the country to implement them. Cigarettes were still being sold at a very low cost in and even children could purchase them easily.

“Tobacco used with betel nut is the major reason for rising head, mouth and neck cancer in the country,” he warned.

Dr Muhammad Irfan of Pakistan Chest Society said that tobacco had major repercussions on health of the public.

“A colossal share of foreign exchange is consumed in importing exorbitantly priced medicines required to treat diseases caused by tobacco,” said Dr Irfan.

Dr Irfan added that the policy makers had to realize that we could improve public health as well as save money if we controlled the tobacco epidemic by implementing tobacco control laws.

Published in Daily Times, June 1^st 2018.