ISLAMABAD: Like other parts of the globe, “World No Tobacco Day” will also be observed in Pakistan on Thursday to highlight the health and other risks associated with tobacco use, and advocating for effective policies to reduce tobacco consumption.
Several health and education institutions, organizations and NGOs have planned number of activities to mark the day.
This year “World No Tobacco Day 2018” focuses on the impact tobacco has on the cardiovascular health of people worldwide.
World Health Organisation’s (WHO) statistics claimed that the global tobacco epidemic kills more than seven million people each year, of which close to 900,000 are non-smokers dying from breathing second-hand smoke.
It said that nearly 80% of the more than one billion smokers worldwide live in low- and middle-income countries, where the burden of tobacco-related illness and death is heaviest.
Second-hand smoke is the smoke that fills restaurants, offices or other enclosed spaces when people burn tobacco products such as cigarettes, bidis and water-pipes.
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, it added.
It said that link between tobacco and heart and other cardiovascular diseases (CVD), including stroke, which combined are the world’s leading causes of death and the feasible actions and measures that key audiences, including governments and the public, can take to reduce the risks to heart health posed by tobacco.
Health expert, Dr Wasim Khawaja from Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) said that tobacco use was an important risk factor for the development of coronary heart disease, stroke, and peripheral vascular disease.
He added despite the known harms of tobacco to heart health, and the availability of solutions to reduce related death and disease, knowledge among large sections of the public that tobacco is one of the leading causes of CVD is low.
He said that cardiovascular diseases (CVD) kill more people than any other cause of death worldwide, and tobacco use and second-hand smoke exposure contribute to approximately 12% of all heart disease deaths.
Tobacco use is the second leading cause of CVD, after high blood pressure.
He said that there is no safe level of exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke.
In adults, second-hand smoke causes serious cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, including coronary heart disease and lung cancer while in infants, it causes sudden death and in pregnant women, it causes low birth weight.
He said that every person should be able to breathe tobacco-smoke-free air. He added smoke-free laws protect the health of non-smokers and encourage smokers to quit.
General practitioner, Dr Naveed Akhtar suggested that with proper legislation, effective oversight and regulatory measures to differentiate and categories smoke-free products from combustive tobacco under separate tax slabs, the country can also become one of the countries for the rest of the world to follow.
He said that successful tobacco harm reduction experience of various countries can serve as role model for Pakistan where smoking continues to pose serious challenges.
National Coordinator Coalition for Tobacco Control (CTC-Pak) Khurram Hashmi said that World No Tobacco Day 2018 will be observed with an aim to highlight the links between the use of tobacco products and heart and other cardiovascular diseases besides increasing awareness within the broader public of the impact tobacco use and exposure to second-hand smoke have on cardiovascular health.
He said that observing the day will provide opportunities for the public, governments and others to make commitments to promote heart health by protecting people from use of tobacco products.
He said that tobacco is the primary contributor to 16% of all non-communicable diseases (NCDs) deaths particularly cardiovascular diseases such as heart attacks are the 19% of the total deaths making it the highest NCD in Pakistan.
He urged for immediate implementation of 85% Pictorial Health Warnings on cigarette packs to raise awareness on diseases risks from tobacco use. “Cigarettes are cheaper now and accessible to anyone including children and youth. We need stricter policies, enforcement measures and more awareness to better understand the laws, “he added.
