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Members
of the Pakistan Anti-Tobacco Coalition have demanded a comprehensive
ban on all forms of tobacco advertising and vowed to continue the
fight against the tobacco epidemic in the country. This was stated
during the deliberations at the second meeting of the Coalition,
held at the Community Health Sciences (CHS), Aga Khan University
(AKU), Karachi.
The meeting
was jointly organised by The Network for Consumer Protection, Tobacco
Free Initiative and AKU. Formed in 2001, the Coalition comprises
various organisations working for tobacco control in Pakistan, including
Tobacco Free Initiative, Pakistan Chest Society, Cancer Society,
Cardiac Society, AKU, Ziauddin Medical University, Anti-Smoking
Society, as well as several NGOs.
In the welcome
remarks, Dr. Sajid Ali of CHS highlighted the need to work in a
coordinated manner in order to combat tobacco epidemic in the country.
The members of the Coalition discussed future strategies for combating
the tobacco epidemic and put the responsibility on the government,
which had failed to pass effective anti-tobacco legislation in the
country. 'It seems that we are still living in the dark ages where
the tobacco industry is allowed to exploit the public in the absence
of any laws,' said Prof. Javaid Khan of Department of Medicine,
AKU. He stressed that as a first step, all kinds of tobacco promotion
in the country be banned.
Dr. N. A. Jafarey,
Vice Chancellor of Ziauddin Medical University, suggested that educational
institutions play a more active role in educating the society about
tobacco and its hazards. Speaking on the occasion, the representative
of Cancer Society, Prof Sirajuduala Syed, said that almost 40%
cancer cases in Pakistan could be prevented if the use of tobacco
was avoided. Dr. Franklin White, Chair, CHS, said that there had
been considerable reduction in the prevalence of smoking in most
developed countries but unfortunately, "these companies are now
targeting the developing countries of the world. Dr. Ehsan Latif,
Coordinator for the Pakistan Anti-Tobacco Coalition said that his
organisation would do everything possible to bring anti-tobacco
activists on one platform so that anti-tobacco activities could
be coordinated in a better way.
The members
expressed the need to keep the public informed that tobacco is the
single largest preventable cause of disease and death in Pakistan.
Smoking kills a smoker after every eight seconds and the time is
running out for all of us, the members added. They warned that if
no action is taken now, the current global death toll from tobacco
- 4 million/year - will increase to 10 million by the year 2025.
The Coalition has urged the government to announce and implement
the proposed anti-tobacco law without any delay so that thousands
of precious human lives could be saved.
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