Staff Report
Islamabad: Speakers have said that aroun 10.7 per cent of Pakistani youth, including 6.6 per cent of girls and 13.3 per cent of boys use tobacco products due to the cheap prices of tobacco.
The Society for Protection of Rights of the Child (SPARC) on Monday marked Universal Children’s Day 2022, calling for slapping a heavy levy on tobacco products to save the health of Pakistani youth and children.
Shedding light on this year’s theme “Inclusion, for every child”, the speakers said that the children ahve the right to health, education, a clean environment, and survival and development and it must be ensured.
The speakers proposed the immediate implementation of the Tobacco Health Levy Bill to generate Rs60 billion in revenue to save children from the harms of tobacco.
Dr Ziauddin Islam, former technical head/director, of the Tobacco Control Cell, at the ministry of health, mentioned that children were more affected by exposure to tobacco as these products were easily available to them.
They said that 10.7 percent of Pakistani youth including 6.6 per cent of girls and 13.3 per cent of boys use tobacco products due to the cheap prices of tobacco.
The speakers said that approximately 1,200 Pakistani youth start smoking every day. They said that “we must take a step to save our children from tobacco consumption by imposing a health levy on tobacco products urgently.
Shariq Mehmood Khan, CEO of Chromatic Trust, mentioned that the tobacco industry was trying to conquer the minds of children through different tactics.
They said that in 2019, the federal cabinet approved a bill to impose health levy on tobacco products to decrease consumption and generate Rs60 billion per year. However, the tobacco industry influenced many policymakers to block the bill. they said that the economic cost of smoking in Pakistan has reached Rs615.07 billion which is equal to 1.6 percent of Pakistan’s GDP. They said that the revenue generated from the tobacco industry was only 20 per cent of the total cost while the tobacco industry has earned billions at expense of child health.
Khalida Ahmed, a Member Board of Directors SPARC, mentioned that nearly half, 45 percent of our population were children under 18 years. Child rights are recognized and protected under the global commitments made by Pakistan such as the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and Sustainable Development Goals. Tobacco is a pandemic that directly violates children’s right to life, survival and development, health, education, and access to clean and green public places.
