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| Smoking hazards highlighted |
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Monday, June 01, 2009
By Atif Nadeem
LAHORE
USE of tobacco remains one of the leading causes of premature death and disabling diseases, yet the number of smokers is increasing worldwide, especially in the developing world, research has showed.
Approximately 100,000 people die every year in Pakistan from diseases caused by tobacco use, doctors quoting medical researches said on World No Tobacco Day that was celebrated across the city on Sunday.
Various walks and seminars were organized to mark the day with the theme “Tobacco Health Warnings”. A walk by medical students and doctors from the King Edward Medical University (KEMU) to Mayo Hospital was held for create awareness about the adverse effects of smoking.
Talking about hazards of smoking, Dr Asifa, a maxillofacial surgeon, said that a cigarette contains almost 300 types of carcinogenic chemicals making human body more vulnerable to cancer. She said in a polluted environment like Pakistan and other developing countries, smoking has double affect on smokers. “Passive smoking is more injurious to health than smoking,” she said adding that though nicotine has a stimulant affect on human body but excess of nicotine proves disastrously harmful.
To ensure the right of non-smokers and save the general public from the adverse effects of tobacco, the ‘Prohibition of Smoking and Protection of Non-smokers Ordinance’ was promulgated in 2002. Under the ordinance, the police is authorised to expel anyone found smoking in a public place, and allowed to use force, if necessary, under Section 12. As per law, playgrounds, public parks, restaurants, offices, cinemas, hotel lounges, waiting rooms, libraries, train stations, bus stands, stadiums, educational institutions and all places visited by a large number of people were defined as ‘public places’.
The Section 8 of the ordinance restricts the sale of cigarettes to underage children. Similarly, no vendor can sell cigarettes within a radius of 50 meters from any college, school or other educational institution. Violators of the ordinance can be fined up to Rs1, 000 and repeat offenders up to Rs100, 000. These violations are openly carried out across the city, the experts said.
To save the young generation from smoking, the sale of cigarettes to children under 18 years of age should strictly be banned. Experts said if the law was strictly implemented, a vivid decline in smoking could be seen.
Around 85 percent of smokers start in their teens and according to different reports, around 1,200 to 1,500 schoolchildren between the ages of six and 16 take up smoking every day in Pakistan.
The market liberalization has played a significant role in increasing smoking prevalence among adolescents in countries with previously closed markets. Restrictions on tobacco sales in the developed world have also led the tobacco industry to shift its focus towards developing countries.
Non-government sector organisations have warned that health awareness programs in isolation are not sufficient to decrease the overall consumption of tobacco. To be effective, campaigns must be supplemented with other price and non-price control measures, including a ban on all types of direct and indirect advertising and promotion of tobacco products.
Experts said that smoking was the second major cause of death worldwide and half of regular smokers were at risk of the premature death. According to the World Heath Organization, there are approximately 1.1 billion regular smokers in the world, which is one-third of the global population aged 15 years and older. According to figures, roughly 47 percent of men and 12 percent of women are smokers. During recent years, tobacco use has increased in Pakistan and some other Asian countries. The WHO said that cigarette-smoking men have a 70 percent higher death rate than non-smokers.
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ISSN 1563-9479 
