Smoking is the biggest cause of death and disability and if existing tends continue, there will be 10 million deaths by 2020 and a billion by the end of the century due to smoking related diseases.
Health professionals told Business Recorder here on Tuesday that many of the college and school students are found to be regular smokers and one of the most effective ways to protect young people from the harmful effects of tobacco use is to ban the promotion of the tobacco products. The government should impose a total ban on tobacco use especially in the educational institutions, they said.
"Smoking has been proved to have really bad effects on the complexion, skin and muscles of the person among other things. Smoking increases the risk of coronary heart disease, stroke and severe eye damage, as well as a range of cancers, diseases and conditions", they said, adding that smoking causes cancer and approximately 80 to 85 per cent of lung cancer, laryngeal cancer, mouth and tongue cancer besides cardiac problems, bronchitis, emphysema, TB of lungs and larynx are common owing to smoking.
They said it is an alarming fact that hundreds of thousands of people who have never smoked die each year from diseases caused by breathing second-hand tobacco smoke. Such people are becoming victims of second-hand tobacco smoke for which they need to be protected, they added.
They further said smoking increases chances of blood to clot and it decreases HDL (good) cholesterol and the risk increases greatly if one smokes and has a family history of heart disease. Although, smoking cigarette is addictive, a large number of people are still sticking to the bad habit, even after links to cancer and other diseases have been established, they added. Depression, style, sufferings and non-implementation on existing laws were major reasons for spread of smoking, they said.
They called for strict enforcement of prohibition on smoking and protection of non-smoker ordinance of 2002 because smoking is regarded as the single largest preventable cause of death in Pakistan.
Punjab Minister for Population, Welfare Neelam Jabbar Chaudhry, stressed the need for launching massive awareness campaign for sensitising the people specially the women folk about hazardous aspects of smoking in order to prevent heart, lungs, bronchitis and other fatal diseases. She said that billion of rupees are being wasted on smoking annually which is major course of spread of deadly diseases like TB, heart attack even cancer. Neelam said that in order to set up a smoking and pollution free society, it is the collective responsibility of parents, teachers, ulema, and social welfare organisations besides government to create awareness among the peoples against the use of cigarettes. She also said that it is paramount obligation of parents and teachers to keep a vigilance eye on the habits and circles of friends to save the new generation from this scourge.