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The annual tobacco-related death toll had been expected to rise from the present 5 million to 10 million by 2025 in the world , this was disclosed in Ministry for Health's National Action Plan prepared in collaboration with the World Health Organisation (WHO), Pakistan office and Heart File.
The Action Plan published this week stated that 70 percent of the deaths would occur in developing countries.
According to the "Smoking Control Program" launched by the Ministry in June 2004, smoking had become the root cause of 90 percent lungs cancer deaths, for 75 percent of bronchitis and 25 percent of ischemic heart disease deaths under 65 years of age in men.
The most common diseases associated with " Cigarette Smoking" were cancer of lungs, lip, mouth, larynx, pharynx, esophagus, gastro duodenal and bladder ulcer, tongue, bronchitis, emphysema, ischemic heart diseases and other ailments of vascular system. Smoking also accounts for 80 percent of the excess mortality.
Apart from the high rate of smoking-related mortality, devastation caused by tobacco use had gone much beyond that estimate with implications for individuals, societies and health systems.
The Action Plan says, about 5 million people had died annually from tobacco related diseases. If the current trends remained continued, about 10 million people would die annually in 2025. Those deaths would be more than the deaths from malaria, maternal and childhood conditions and T.B. combined.
The Plan states the Government should take effective measures focusing on interventions to alter social, fiscal, economic and physical environment.
Ministry for Health had proposed the recommendations that all the government departments must implement the Anti-smoking Ordinance under their jurisdiction and the Health department must set an example by prohibiting smoking in its offices; and establish health care establishments.
The Ministry had further proposed to constitute provincial committee on implementation of " Prohibition of Smoking Ordinance and to establish district committees under district Nazims and fresh circulars should be issued declaring all heath facilities including teaching institutions as "No-Smoking Zones".
Ministry for Health had emphasised to hold joint meetings between Minister for Health and Minister for Education, Communication and Environment, to make schools, transports, PIA and railway as smoke free Zone.
According to the national action plan, reliance on revenue generated from tobacco - seven per cent of GNP through duties etc- had been one of the fundamental barriers to effective tobacco control in Pakistan.
According to the recent cross-sectional survey of 632 urban school going children of Islamabad carried out for the Network of the Consumer Protection revealed 28 percent of the urban adolescent of 15 to 18 year age currently smoke. Out of these 75 percent were regular smokers and 58 percent had been smoking for last two years.
However, two third of the population lived in the rural areas where tobacco consumption was mainly used in non-cigarette forms.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2004

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