Media play a key role in shaping tobacco-related knowledge, opinions, attitudes and behaviours among individuals and within the communities. These were the views of participants of a seminar on "National Quit Smoking Day" organised by World Health Organisation (WHO), in collaboration with University of Health Sciences (UHS), National Alliance for Tobacco Control (NATC) and Green Future, at the UHS here on Friday.
The participants of the seminar included Dr Farrukh Jawaid, MPA, UHS vice-chancellor Professor M. H. Mubbashar, Shahzad Alam of WHO, Dr Tahir Saeed, Jawad Hassan, Nudrat S. Alvi, prominent columnist Amjad Islam Amjad, columnist Hafiz Shafiq-ur-Rehman, Ahmed Fraz Khan and health professionals.
Dr Farrukh Jawaid said that comprehensive tobacco control programmes, which included mass media campaign, could be effective in changing smoking behaviour. He said the government had passed an act, prohibiting smoking and the sale of tobacco to juveniles, within the province.
Professor Mubbashar said although tobacco deaths rarely made headlines, tobacco killed one person every six seconds. He said that according to WHO figures, tobacco epidemic killed 100 million people world-wide in the 20th century and during the 21st century, it could kill one billion. "The world's more than one billion smokers, about a quarter of all adults, were addicted, whereas services to treat tobacco dependence were fully available in only nine countries," he added.
He informed the audience that tobacco use was a risk factor for six, out of the eight leading causes of death in the world. "Comprehensive warnings about the dangers of tobacco can change tobacco's image, especially among adolescents and young adults," he added.
"The cure for this devastating epidemic is dependent not on medicines or vaccines, but on the concerted action of the government and civil society," he added. Other speakers, in their speeches, said the government needed support from all sections of the society to educate the public about the serious health hazards associated with tobacco use.
They also said that tobacco use in the form of "Gutka" etc was also one of the major causes of oral cancers. They said: "lung cancer is the number one cause of cancer deaths in Pakistani males and over 90 percent of such cases are caused directly by the use of tobacco."
According to a report by the WHO, tobacco is one of the most powerful addictive substances available in the world and tobacco users could die on average 15 to 20 years prematurely. About 5.4 million people died in 2008 because of tobacco. This death toll is expected to rise to 10 million per year by the year 2025, unless preventive measures are taken.
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