The district administration has decided to launch a month-long public awareness campaign against smoking at public places and to mobilise all the stakeholders about hazards of tobacco use and implementation of prohibition of smoking and protection of non-smokers health ordinance in Islamabad. This was decided at a meeting chaired by Islamabad Deputy Commissioner Amer Ali Ahmed and attended by the officials of Tobacco Control Cell, Cabinet Division, Islamabad, the traffic police, District Health Department Islamabad.
The meeting also decided to constitute a district implementation and monitoring committee to monitor the progress of implementation of anti-smoking law and to review the progress of the campaign on monthly basis.
The committee would consist of officials of Tobacco Control Cell, Secretary, Islamabad Transport Authority, Islamabad Traffic Police, Capital Development Authority, Custom Services, District Health Department, Islamabad and Federal Directorate of Education.
It was also decided that all the stakeholders, including traders community, hotels and restaurants owners, representatives of bar associations and chambers of commerce and industries, heads of educational institutions would also be taken on board and meetings would be held with and seeking their cooperation to this effect.
Islamabad Deputy Commissioner Amer Ali Ahmed said that the main emphasis of the campaign would be to create awareness in the public and protect the health of non-smokers and mobilise the public opinion against smoking at public places.
The meeting also devised a plan of action for the campaign and decided to hold meetings with the transporters, representatives of Chambers of Commerce and Industries Islamabad and heads of schools and colleges managements and traders during this month.
The officials of Tobacco Control Cell, the Islamabad Traffic Police and the ITA secretary would also arrange orientation sessions with the stakeholders for imparting proper training to them and creating awareness among the general public about hazards of smoking.
