ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — The Punjab government has announced a ban smoking in all the prisons of the province.

Punjab Prisons Minister Chaudhry Abdul Ghafoor, while addressing the inaugural session of workshop on “Tobacco Smoking-A Preventable Epidemic” at the University of Health Sciences (UHS) on Tuesday, said the level of awareness about the hazards of smoking, second hand smoking, responsibilities and authorities under the law and the initiatives taken by the government for tobacco control was extremely low among the masses. He further said there was a dire need to evolve an effective strategy for the implementation of the existing laws. On this occasion, the minister announced an immediate ban on smoking in all the prisons of the province.

The workshop was organized by the UHS Centre for Health Environment Studies in collaboration with World Health Organization (WHO), Tobacco Control Cell, Ministry of Health, Punjab Health Department and Green Future.

UHS Vice Chancellor Prof Malik Hussain Mubbashar said smoking was a behaviour related disorder and there was a need to establish a multi-sectoral task force to evolve strategies for tackling this menace. He said three factors were involved in this problem which included personality, environment and availability of substance. He was of the view that so-called western pseudo-cults had changed our age old traditions and values which created a vacuum in the personality of our children. To fill this vacuum, they resort to smoking and other forms of substance abuse. The VC said 38 per cent of population was affected by smoking, especially young people. He added 42 per cent of global disease burden was related to behavioural disorders.

He further said a meaningful programme, involving various departments of government including health, environment, law, information and education, be launched to deal with the problem of smoking at the same time taking care of all four aspects of health, that is preventive, promotive, protective and curative.

Shahzad Alam Khan of World Health Organization said that according to statistics, nearly 38 per cent of the total population of Punjab smoked cigarettes or used tobacco in other forms, tobacco smoke reaching more than 95 per cent of the population. He further said estimated 60,000 people died because of smoking in Pakistan every year. He said smoking caused 5.4 million deaths every year in the world. “Approximately 1.8 billion young people (aged 10-24) live in our world today with more than 85 per cent found in developing countries”. He disclosed that smoking was decreasing in the developed world but increasing in the developing countries, adding that 76 billion cigarettes were used in Pakistan every year. He maintained that one of the most effective ways to protect young people from experimenting and becoming regular users was to ban all forms of direct and indirect tobacco advertising including promotion of tobacco products and sponsorship by the tobacco industry. He also said tobacco companies should disclose tobacco contents and print pictorial health warning on cigarettes packs.

Dr Agha Mahboob of Tobacco Control Cell, Ministry of Health Islamabad, said more than 80 per cent of the world’s smokers lived in low and middle income countries. He added that smoking was among 10 major risk factors as identified by WHO, leading to more than 23 types of cancers including that of mouth, nose, lungs and voice box. He also said research had shown that men who smoked had a significantly higher risk of developing impotence.

Dr Agha further said an estimated 1200 young Pakistanis between the age of 6 and 15 years started smoking every year whereas use of shisha among the youth and adolescents was an emerging health risk. He said theTobacco Control Cell of the Ministry of Health had chalked out a 5-year strategic plan of action (2007-12) under which awareness programmes on tobacco control would be launched.

Advocate Jawad Hassan said the federal government promulgated an ordinance in 2002 for the prohibition of smoking. Similarly, the provincial government had passed an act in 2003 prohibiting juvenile smoking and the sale of tobacco to juveniles within the province. However, he said this legislation needed to be enforced. “There is a need to evolve an effective strategy for the implementation of the ordinance and also to strengthen the legal framework regarding the monitoring and implementation of the law”, he added.

Director General Health Services Punjab Muhammad Aslam Chaudhry said it was our moral duty to prohibit smoking at all public places, especially hospitals and universities. Prof Dr Sajjad Naseer of Lahore School of Economics, Prof Dr Muhammad Saeed from Gulab Devi Hospital Lahore and Dr Shagufta Feroze also spoke. A number of health processionals, students and representatives of transport associations attended the workshop.

(Daily The News)