25 African nations ask Pakistan not to export kiddie cigarette packs to Sudan

ISLAMABAD: Health organisations from 25 African countries have urged Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif not to allow British American Tobacco (BAT) to manufacture and export 10-cigarette “kiddie” packs to Sudan.

They argue it would promote smoking habits among children in African countries, public health experts in Islamabad disclosed on Thursday.

“Around 60 public health experts from 54 health advocacy organisations in 25 African countries have urged our PM Shehbaz Sharif not to allow British American Tobacco to manufacture and export 10-cigarette packs to Sudan. We support the demand and urge the government to review the decision”, Vice Chancellor of Health Services Academy (HSA) Prof Shahzad Ali Khan told a news conference.

Prof Shahzad Ali Khan said manufacturing and sale of 10-cigarette packs is not allowed in Pakistan. It makes it easier for children to buy and smoke them. The same principle should be adopted for other countries, he advised.

“For a few million dollars, we are allowing a multinational tobacco giant to manufacture and export small cigarette packs to African countries. It is against basic principles of humanity. If something is harmful to us, it should be considered harmful to other countries too,” Prof Khan said.

He also called for imposing a complete ban on cigarettes and other tobacco products in Pakistan by 2030. In the next six years, government should explore other avenues for earning revenue instead of getting tax money from tobacco products, he proposed.

“We are spending hundreds of times more money on managing health issues caused by tobacco. They include cardiovascular disease, lung and other cancers, COPD and other diseases, than the revenue we get from allowing sale of tobacco products in the country,” he maintained.

Prof Khan further informed cigarette and tobacco products are the biggest cause of impotence among men and infertility among females who consume tobacco. They are one of the leading causes of divorces, relationship issues, mental health problems and scores of other health problems, he remarked.

In response to a query, Prof Khan said as a public health institution, they have a responsibility to advise the government on issues of public health. “We are performing this role by holding public health conferences, seminars and press conferences on issues of national importance related to health”, he said.

Prof Matiur Rehman, head of lung diseases and tobacco control department at HSA, said tobacco-related illnesses, such as cancer, diabetes and heart diseases, contribute to over 160,000 deaths annually in Pakistan. These deaths not only affect individuals but also have long-term impacts on families, communities and the healthcare system, he said.

Prof Rehman said Pakistan spends over $3.6 billion on management and treatment of diseases caused by smoking and tobacco use. In addition to direct deaths, over 31,000 people, mostly children, die annually due to second-hand smoking in the country, he added.

“We urge the government not to allow British American Tobacco to export small kiddie packs to Africa, as their children are as innocent as our own”. He urged the government to take measures to control sale of cigarettes to children in Pakistan. A vast majority of cigarette smokers are children under the age of 18, he said.

Dr Madiha Siddiqui said although prevalence of tobacco use is declining in developed world, it has been steadily rising in developing countries. Women and youth have been the target of tobacco advertising strategies, resulting in increase in smoking prevalence in these countries, she said.

Tobacco use, she said, causes six million deaths each year. “There has been a dramatic rise in lung diseases among women in developing countries”, she remarked.