Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: More than 50 civil society organizations throughout the country will commemorate “World No Tobacco Day (WNTD)” on May 31 (today)Tuesday to create awareness among smokers on the hazardous effects of smoking and to pursue them to quit the bad habit.

The governmental, non-governmental, and community-based organizations, will arrange meetings, seminars, webinars, rallies, and display posters and banners as part of their awareness campaign in different cities and towns.

The theme for this year by the WHO is “Protect the environment “.

Civil society organizations are going to highlight this theme as the tobacco industry’s production life cycle is affecting the environment of the planet, highlighting that, throughout its life cycle, tobacco pollutes the planet and damages the health of all people and calling upon the government to raise tax on cigarettes pack as cigarettes are still much cheaper.

Anti-tobacco activists will emphasis protecting the earth from the pollution of tobacco through different activities

Coalition for Tobacco Control-Pakistan (CTC-PAK), a coalition of more than 50 active civil society organizations and a subsidiary of Society for Alternative Media and Research, is also observing the day in its respective work areas.

The tobacco control activists through different activities on the “World No Tobacco Day” will also emphasize protecting the earth from the pollution of the tobacco as the industry released 84,000,000 tons of CO2 into the air raising global temperatures, saving forests from them as they chopped 600 billion trees and 22000 billion tons of water used to make cigarettes.

They will also demand to raise taxes on cigarette packs and urge the government to stop the tobacco industry’s interference in tobacco control policy issues. The activists will also create awareness against the use of e-cigarettes and other tobacco products, which are equally harmful to health and the environment.

World No Tobacco Day (WNTD) is observed on May 31 every year all over the world as a part of the World Health Organization (WHO) campaign against smoking. The purpose of the day is to create awareness against the use of tobacco and protect public health.