Govt urged to implement ordinance on smoking

By: Fozia Azam | Published: May 30, 2008

She admits that there are some weaknesses in the ordinance, as it does not cover sheesha as a tobacco product.
The target of the Tobacco industry in Pakistan is youth and every day in Pakistan 1200 youngster starts smoking and each year.
Dr Anjum Khawer Chairperson Task Force for Tobacco Control PIMS, informed that due to increase in tobacco products use oral cavity has become the second major cause of death in Pakistan and as well in South Asia whereas, according to the western statistic it is the sixth major cause of death worldwide.
Tobacco use in the form of gutka and pan masala is also on the rise in Pakistan, especially amongst children, resulting in a higher incidence of head and neck cancers. "Unfortunately, Pakistan is one of the countries with a higher incidence of oral cancer, she added.
Involvement of youth in healthy sports was one of the key recommendations of the conference and as a part of it a No Smoking Football tournament is being organised in Rawalpindi in which 16 top teams of the country would participate.
Business alternative should be provided to the farmers and those who are engage in tobacco products business. To make thousands of people jobless is not the solution of the problem they have to be given alternative job opportunities. If a farmer is not allowed to grow tobacco in fields then he should be given incentives for some other option such as growing tea, which is also a profitable business, he said.

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