Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan has failed to implement Prohibition of Smoking and Protection of Non Smokers Health Ordinance 2002 in its affiliated universities, as the smoking trend is continuing to rise among varsity students, Pakistan Today has learnt. In 2008, HEC announced to hold anti-smoking lectures in collaboration with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Health Ministry in Lahore, Islamabad and Karachi’s public and private sector universities, but failed to do so. The number of smokers in the universities is continuing to rise as the HEC officials are lacking interest to launch the anti-smoking move.
According to an HEC official, anti-smoking plan was devised to create awareness on smoking hazards and discourage the act. He said HEC conducted some anti-smoking lectures in institutions in Karachi and Islamabad, but this was done only to show to the authorities that HEC was ‘working’; no substantial work was done. He said the HEC officials buried the campaign. He said that the city’s universities, where the trend of smoking sheeshas and drugs was significantly increasing among students, have been ignored. Various universities were waiting for the HEC to initiate its lectures, he added.
According to another HEC official, WHO, Health Ministry and the HEC jointly made a list of institutions which they had to target.
The universities include Fast-National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences (Fast-NUCES), National College of Arts (NCA), Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), Beaconhouse National University (BNU), Government College University (GCU), Kinnaird College (KC), Forman Christian College University (FCCU), Lahore College for Women University (LCWU) and the Punjab University (PU). He said that HEC researched that these universities had failed to implement the ordinance and these institutions’ students had become habitual smokers. An HEC official, seeking anonymity, said that in 2008, it was decided that universities would be instructed to implement the ordinance and these institutions will be no-smoking zones.
Noor Amina Malik, an HEC official who was leading this project, said that HEC held lectures in universities of Karachi and Islamabad but later WHO’s project ended. She said that in July, the new financial year was going to start and they will start a campaign in this connection again. She said that earlier HEC sent letters to the institutions for the implementation of the ordinance and all institutions signed on it but they had to start the campaign afresh.
