STAFF REPORT
ISLAMABAD: Health activists on Friday expressed deep concern over the federal cabinet’s decision to approve Statutory Regulatory Order (SRO) to regularize heated tobacco products in Pakistan.
In a dialogue with the media organized by the Society for the Protection of Rights of the Child (SPARC), health activists expressed that this move will further dent Pakistan’s public health infrastructure and economy.
Country Head, of CTFK, Malik Imran Ahmed said that tobacco consumption has become a pandemic in Pakistan with over 31 million people consuming tobacco in some form. Around 170,000 people die due to tobacco-induced diseases every year. Tobacco Industry keeps hurting our health and economy by introducing new products.
Health risks of tobacco smoking
Malik Imran Ahmed further added that the economic cost of smoking in Pakistan is PKR 615.07 billion which is equal to 1.6% of Pakistan’s GDP but the revenue generated from the tobacco industry is only 20% of the total cost.
He said it is depressing to see how much the tobacco industry has influenced policymaking. Legalizing heated tobacco products will generate more revenue for the industry but our national exchequer will suffer more due to the diseases caused by these products.
Khalil Ahmed Dogar, Program Manager, SPARC, mentioned that children and low-income people are the primary targets of the tobacco industry. More than 1200 children begin to smoke every day in Pakistan and the tobacco industry is on the hunt for more trial subjects. It is up to the media, government, academia, and civil society to collaborate against this industry which is trying to derail our future by putting our children at risk.
