According to research over one million people die every year in Pakistan as a result of tobacco intake. WHO states :
Tobacco is the leading preventable cause of death. More than 1.2 million people die every year in South-East Asia Region due to tobacco use. The
wide-spread use of tobacco products in the Region has resulted from unrestricted use of marketing tools by the tobacco industry, the addictive nature of nicotine and the lack of knowledge about the harmful effects of tobacco products among tobacco users and non-users in the form of second-hand tobacco smoke. The lack of regulation of the tools of a product that kills half of its users has exposed the population to the misinformation of the tobacco industry about the suitability of their products.
The Pakistan Health Ministry issued strict warnings in accordance to smoking in Public areas. According to reports pictorial warnings will be diaplayed across the Country at Public Places. Furthermore Pakistan Railway has pledged to make trains a non smoking zone. In Pakistan specially among the youth ’sheesha’ smoking has become a fashion statement or more of the usual. However health care professionals continue to warn about health risks with respect to sheesha smoking , according to them ‘sheesha’ is an equivalent of a 100 puffs of ciggerate.Despite of the health concerns sheesha places have become the new hang out spot for the youth. WHO calls for immediate action:
Call for action
PLACING PICTURE WARNINGS ON ALL TOBACCO PRODUCTS IS AN APPROPRIATE AND HIGHLY COST-EFFECTIVE WAY TO WARN CONSUMERS ABOUT THE RISKS OF TOBACCO AND TO REDUCE TOBACCO CONSUMPTION
Call to policy-makers
Promote your country’s accession to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, whose Article 11 guidelines lay out the elements of effective tobacco health warnings.
Use the MPOWER package — specifically, the “W”, which stands for “Warn about the dangers of tobacco” — to counter the tobacco epidemic and to help countries meet their commitments under the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.
Require by law that all tobacco products display large picture warnings about the harm caused by tobacco and its many other negative consequences.
Build on the experiences of other countries to craft the most effective warnings and implement them for the greatest possible impact.
Base your decisions on impartial scientific evidence, not on the claims of the tobacco industry. Tobacco companies oppose strong health warnings, particularly those with pictures. The arguments they use against health warnings are false and should not be relied upon.
Call to civil society and nongovernmental organizations
Advocate for picture-based warnings on all tobacco products.
Campaign for and help to develop and implement laws that require picture-based warnings on tobacco products.
Act as a watchdog to monitor tobacco-industry packaging strategies and compliance with statutory warnings.
Evaluate and share information about the effectiveness of picture warnings.
Call to the public
Demand your right to know the truth — the whole truth — about the dangers of tobacco use and exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke.
Let everyone know that you support picture warnings.
According to a Report by Dawn Pakistani’s spend approximately Rs1.2bn on Tobacco every year. This money could very well be used for something constructive. Donating to our fellow Pakistani’s in swat perhaps? Tobacco is costing us our health and wealth while we whine about poverty and various issues. Smoking is one thing that is well under our control and it should be tackled in order to reduce tobacco intake and for a healthier and shall I say comparatively wealthier society ?. So if your a smoker rather than fatiguing your lung with all the tar and carbon monoxide do something constructive for yourself and for others, this money could very well be used to feed the needy!
