‘Tobacco kills 5m every year’

LAHORE

Health experts have urged the government to take serious action to curb smoking by increasing taxes, implementation of a ban on tobacco use in public places and its sale to under 18.

Ramazan is a month of blessing for Muslims. It is an opportunity for all smokers to quit tobacco.

Leading experts were briefing the media at an event of Pakistan Islamic Medical Association (PIMA) on World No Tobacco Day, according to a press release issued here on Tuesday.

They included Prof Mukhtar Zaman Afridi, head of the Pulmonology Department KTH Peshawar, Dr Saeedullah Shah, consultant cardiology Shifa International Hospital Islamabad, and Dr Najib Naimatullah, cancer specialist at SIUT and Shaukat Khanam Hospital.

Dr Mukhtar Zaman said that tobacco consumption is one of the largest public health hazards the world has ever had to confront. "Over 5 million people each year are killed, an average of one human every 6 seconds. Tobacco accounts for one in every 10 adult deaths. Up to 50pc of current users of tobacco products will eventually die of a tobacco-linked disease," he added.

Dr Saeedullah Shah warned that unless tobacco was controlled, Pakistan would be heading to a major health crisis in the coming years with heart diseases as the leading killer. Dr Najib Naimatullah was worried about the growing incidence of mouth cancer due to gutka and tobacco chewing, and lung cancer due to smoking. He said the unfortunate deaths were mostly preventable by proper legislation.

Arrangements: City District Government Lahore (CDGL) has planned to establish 31 Ramazan Bazaars in the provincial capital, and all arrangements are in the final stage.

DCO Usman said the Ramazan Bazaars would be established in all nine towns of the city where citizens could purchase quality daily-use items at cheap rates.

He said these bazaars would be established at Model Town Link Road, Makkah Colony, Barkat Market, Ghalib Market, Bab-e-Pakistan, Township, Nishtar Colony, Kahna, Sher Shah Colony, Raiwind Road, Chowk Begum Kot, Delhi Gate, Girls Degree College Data Nagar, Elahi Baksh Road, Wahdat Colony, Gulshan-e-Ravi, Nadeem Shaheed Road, Johar Town, Sabzazar, Raiwind, Chung, Thokar, Shadman, Karim Park, Islampura, Jallo Morr, Badian Road, Ghaziabad, Harbanspura, Chungi, Gol Bagh Shadbagh, Singhpura and China Scheme.

He said the bazaars would be open from 9am till 6pm with facilities like free parking and bathrooms.

He said Rescue 1122 officials would also be stationed at each bazaar to deal with any emergency situation. Entry will be through walk-through gates and CDGL will provide subsidised flour and other food items in these bazaars, he added.

conference: Institute of Biochemistry and Biotechnology of University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore, on Tuesday held a concluding ceremony of a two-day International Conference on Livestock Genomics.

Punjab Higher Education Commission Chairperson Prof Dr Muhammad Nizam-ud-Din chaired the ceremony and distributed shields among the conference resource persons.

UVAS Vice-Chancellor Prof Talat Naseer Pasha, Faculty of Bio Sciences Dean Prof Dr Habib-ur-Rehman and Institute of Biochemistry and Biotechnology Director Dr Wasim Shahzad and a large number of faculty members, UVAS students besides the speakers from the US, India and Saudi Arabia were also present.

Prof Dr Muhammad Nizam-ud-Din said, "We have to simultaneously focus on research in disciplines of social sciences and genomics if we really want our country to progress." He said the conference’s primary focus was to review past efforts in livestock genomics and identify new potential field which was promising in enhancing animal genomics capabilities. He lauded the role of UVAS and its leadership for the development of livestock sector in Pakistan.

Prof Dr Talat Naseer called for breed improvement for enhancing livestock productivity to ensure nutrition security to the increasing population of the country. He appreciated the initiative taken by Institute of Biochemistry and Biotechnology. He said livestock was important in supporting the livelihoods of poor farmers in Pakistan.

A poster competition was also held on the occasion. In the male category, Arif Raza got the first position while in the female category, Haleema Sadia won the position. Prof Dr Nizam-ud-Din and Dr Pasha gave away cash prizes to the winners of the contest.