Tobacco claims over 163,000 lives in Pakistan every year

LAHORE:More than 163,000 people in Pakistan lose their lives every year due to tobacco-related diseases. According to official estimate, the economic impact of tobacco-related annual health costs now exceeds $6 billion, almost nine times higher than the second tranche of $700 million under the 2024 IMF tranche. As per the estimates, every fifth adult in Pakistan uses tobacco in some form, with tobacco users estimated at over 30 million, including 17 million smokers. The really alarming issue is the ever increasing number of young smokers, with more than 1,200 children aged 10-14 reportedly taking up smoking every day. The tobacco industry’s ability to keep prices low and ensure widespread availability, especially in low-income communities and near schools, has fueled the growth of this epidemic. The most effective and evidence-backed response lies in significantly increasing tobacco taxation, coupled with a long-term strategy to reduce and eventually phase out cigarette sales altogether. Asif Iqbal, Managing Director of Social Policy and Development Centre (SPDC), said that tobacco use is not just a personal health risk, but a national development crisis. ‘Every cigarette smoked chips away at our economic productivity, pushes families into poverty through health care costs, and shortens lives that could have contributed in some way to our society. The idea that cigarettes remain affordable while we lose thousands of lives each year is both tragic and unacceptable. Pakistan cannot afford the cost of inaction,’ he said. Without increasing taxes and stronger regulatory enforcement, the tobacco epidemic will continue to claim lives and derail Pakistan’s development goals. ‘Urgent and decisive action is not just necessary but it is long overdue at this point,’ he said.