Most of us know about the hazards of cigarette smoking, which is linked to a host of illnesses like lung cancer, throat cancer, oral cavity and heart diseases. Despite a lot of awareness being raised among society about perils of tobacco use, small reductions in cigarette smoking behaviours have been observed in Pakistan, and around the world as well.
According to the World Health Organisation, tobacco kills more than 8 million people each year, including 1.2 million non-smokers also who are unfortunately exposed to second-hand smoke. The WHO estimates that over 80 per cent of all smokers reside in low- and middle-income countries, which already suffer from overburdened healthcare systems. According to recent estimates, tobacco use causes over 166,000 deaths annually in Pakistan beside increasing the financial and health burdens of the users.
Teen smoking is another challenge Pakistan is facing at present. In normal days, 1,200 to 1,500 schoolchildren fall in the habit of smoking every day in Pakistan. Pakistan is among the top 15 countries in the world with widespread tobacco consumption and higher rates of tobacco-related health issues. According to WHO, both lifetime and current cigarette smoking are increasing steeply with age. At age 11, 5% of boys and 2% of girls have ever smoked, but this rises to 29% of boys and 27% of girls at age 15. Similarly, levels of current cigarette smoking increase from 2% of boys and 1% of girls at age 11, to 15% of both boys and girls at age 15. Teen smoking is mainly driven by social factors combined with the curiosity of teens to explore and rebel. Teens living in a family of smokers, easy accessibility to cigarettes, lack of awareness about the hazards of smoking, and peer pressure all contribute to their predisposition to smoking.
There are more than 4,000 chemicals in tobacco smoke, of which at least 250 are known to be harmful and more than 50 are known to cause cancer. In Pakistan, tobacco is consumed not only through cigarettes, cigars, and hookah, but also in smokeless forms such as paan/betel with tobacco, chalia/supari, snuff, and gutka.
Link between tobacco and heart and other cardiovascular diseases, including stroke, which combined are the world’s leading causes of death, is now well established. Exposure to nicotine of children and adolescents can have long-lasting, damaging effects on brain development. Young people who smoke are also at risk of asthma and impaired lung function and growth, and their physical fitness in terms of both performance and endurance is also reduced because of smoking.
In Pakistan, the use of cigarettes, gutka and sheesha are still largely culturally acceptable habits and fairly inexpensive and easy to acquire. To counter this damaging trend. Studies conducted on tobacco industry’s trade and influence have uncovered the apathy of governments around the world, including Pakistan, acting with lackluster actions against the menace. It is an obvious thing that government officials in Pakistan work hands in glove with multinational companies in inflicting giving damage to the public health and national exchequer. The government here has now imposed a ban on the display of cigarettes at sale points, hoping it will lead to a reduction in the number of smokers in the country. However, such policies work only if they are implemented on the ground through sustained efforts by authorities. Otherwise, policy on paper alone cannot lead to change.
With proper legislation, effective oversight and regulatory measures to differentiate and categories smoke-free products from combustive tobacco under separate tax slabs, Pakistan can become one of the countries for the rest of the world to follow. Health care professionals with support from government and media can make a difference by educating the smokers to quit and motivating the non-smokers, especially youngsters, to remain non-smokers.
