KARACHI: Pakistan Medical Association on Thursday showed concern over the health of people of Pakistan. The 31st May is being marked as the World No Tobacco Day every year across the world. This year the theme of the day is “Tobacco Breaks Hearts”.
PMA takes an opportunity to create awareness and to highlight the health and other risks associated with tobacco use and advocates for effective policies to reduce tobacco consumption.
Cardiovascular disease kills more people than any other cause of death worldwide, and tobacco use and second-hand smoke exposure contributes to approximately 12% of all heart disease deaths. Tobacco use is also the second leading cause of CVD, after high blood pressure. Despite the known harms of tobacco to heart health, and the availability of solutions to reduce related death and disease, knowledge among large sections of the public that tobacco is one of the leading causes of CVD is low.
PMA believes that use of tobacco in any form is hazardous for health. 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, laryngeal cancer and etc.
Prevention is better than Cure
By reducing the consumption of tobacco in the society we can prevent these diseases. PMA has always suggested that prices of the cigarette should be increased so that it could go out of the reach of people and as a result there would be decrease in the sale of cigarettes. People will try to quit smoking when the prices will go so high.
PMA has already demanded that 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, whereas Ms Saira Afzal Tarar once claimed to increase the size of the pictorial warning on cigarette packets from 40to 85 percent.
Tobacco in any form should not be sold to under 18, but we never see the implementation of this law. Under Smoking Prohibition Law 2002, smoking is prohibited at public places but again the law is never seen being implemented.
In the light of above facts PMA demanded again that: anti smoking laws should be implemented in letter and spirit, sale of tobacco in any form (Cigarette, Chalia, Gutka, etc) should be banned at the Canteens / Tuck shops of all educational institutions and do not allow to sale these things with in the 1/2 Km vicinity of these institutions, the people should quit use of tobacco immediately to save them from the severe diseases. Those who are addicted to tobacco can quit it easily in the month of Ramadan.