Health warnings on cigarette packs: Work to begin on enforcement of bigger graphic warnings

Islamabad: The government will work to raise taxes on cigarettes after due coordination with the Ministry of Finance. Moreover, the Provincial Chief Ministers will be requested to ensure enforcement of tobacco control laws, particularly enforcement of legislation on Pictorial Health Warnings (PHWs) on cigarette packs.

Federal Minister for National Health Services Aamer Mehmood Kiani announced his intention to enforce stricter controls on the use of tobacco and its products in a bid to improve public health in Pakistan, a country where almost 24 million adults currently use tobacco in its various forms.

Speaking during a briefing held at the Tobacco Control Cell (TCC) here on Friday, the Minister additionally directed TCC to launch an awareness campaign on the hazards of smoking and to promote tobacco cessation and quitting services. “A comprehensive survey should be conducted to collect data on health indicators,” he added.

The Project Manager of TCC highlighted key measures taken to reduce tobacco use. “The TCC notified new enhanced PHWs on cigarette packs and outers, banned sale of loose cigarettes sticks, banned import of tobacco and non-tobacco ‘sheesha’ and related substances, banned tobacco advertisement in the print, electronic and outdoor media, banned cigarette packs having less than 20 cigarettes, illegalized designated smoking areas/smoking rooms, declared public places 100% smoke-free, raised public awareness, and built capacity of authorized persons to support enforcement,” he listed.

The Technical Head of TCC spoke about challenges impeding tobacco control efforts. He made a special mention of easy availability of low-priced cigarettes in this context. He informed that TCC has already solicited PEMRA’s support to air tobacco control messages as public service messages. He also presented the way forward and future plans. He further proposed implementation of Tobacco Venda Act 1958 to regulate the sale of tobacco products.

Kiani assured that every possible measure would be taken to reduce the prevalence of tobacco use and to save the lives of people. It may be recollected that the former health minister in the PML-N government Saira Afzal Tarar had announced enhancement of the size of PHWs on cigarette packs to 85 percent back in mid-2015, and was even presented the top WHO award for this daring step by the regional director of the World Health Organization (WHO) at that time. The initiative, however, was never implemented because the Ministry failed to withstand the pressure tactics of the tobacco industry. Had the step been taken, Pakistan would have become the second country in the world to introduce such a measure. All hopes are now attached with the new leadership in this regard.