Youth and tobacco use

Smoking cigarettes has become one of the biggest problems of our society. This has led to premature deaths of a large number of people. According to the Pakistan Demographic Health Survey, 46 percent men and 5.7 percent women smoke tobacco and the number is increasing day by day. This habit is mostly found in the country’s young generation. People start smoking for a variety of different reasons. Some people start smoking because their family members or friends smoke. Some start this bad habit because of stress. Smoking is bad for health. It harms every organ of the body. Smoking causes many life-threatening diseases. Smoking is the prime cause of cancer, lung disease, heart and blood vessel disease all that lead to death. Women who smoke have a greater chance of certain pregnancy complications too. Quitting smoking is a cumbersome process. Tobacco contains nicotine, which is highly addictive, because of which people cannot quit smoking easily. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), nearly 80 percent of the world’s one billion smokers live in low and middle-income countries. Tobacco kills around six million people each year. In which more than 600,000 people are victims of passive smoking. In Pakistan, almost 100,000 people die annually.

The government should make rules and regulations to reduce tobacco use. The government should start smoking cessation and health education campaigns to discourage the habit of smoking. Smoking in public places and workplaces must be banned. The government should also put certain restrictions on shopkeepers that stop them from selling cigarettes or related products to anyone under the age of 18.

Faizan Akhtar

Bhimber, AJK