108,000 people die each year in Pakistan from tobacco related diseases: WHO

According to a WHO report on tobacco consumption in Pakistan, diseases like heart disease, stroke and emphysema account for most tobacco-related deaths. Smokers are at high risk of cancers, while non-smokers become victims of cardiovascular disease because of passive smoking.

It said that many people are not fully aware of the risks of tobacco consumption; they either misunderstand or underestimate the deadly risks –such as premature mortality- involved in tobacco use and exposure to tobacco smoke.

It said that well-designed health warnings and messages on tobacco product packages have been demonstrated to be a cost-effective means to increase public awareness of the health risks of tobacco use, and an effective way of reducing tobacco consumption.

19.1% (23.9 million) of Pakistani adults (31.8% among men and 5.8% among women) used tobacco products on a daily or less than daily basis, according to the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS Pakistan)

It added that of the entire populations 12.4% (22.2% of men, 2.1 of women) were tobacco smokers. More people smoke in rural areas (13.9%) than in urban areas (10.0%).

It said overall, ‘daily’ cigarette smokers smoked an average of 13.6 cigarettes per day, with males smoking 13.7 and females smoking 10.3 cigarettes per day, respectively

It said nearly 16.8 million adults who worked indoors were exposed to tobacco smoke at the workplace, 56.3 million at home, 21.2 million at restaurants and 49.2 million who used public transport.

The average amount spent on a packet of 20 cigarettes has been Rs 40.9 – an amount that could buy 2.2 pounds of potatoes or five eggs.

On the other hand, 74.8% of adults favoured increasing taxes on tobacco products. Around 85.8% adults believed smoking causes serious illness whereas 77% believed edible tobacco causes serious illness, it added.

National Coordinator, Coalition for Tobacco Control Pakistan (CTC), Khurram Hashmi, said that effective health warnings and messages on packaging for tobacco products and labelling measures are key components of a comprehensive, integrated approach to tobacco control.

He said that the evidence showed that health warnings and messages that contained both pictures and text were shown to be far more effective than ones that carried warnings in text alone.

He added that they had the added potential of reaching people with low levels of literacy and those who cannot read the language in which the text of the health warning or message is written.

Hashmi said that plain packaging would standardise the appearance of cigarette packages by requiring the removal of all brand imagery, including corporate logos and trademarks.

He said packages would display a standard background colour and manufacturers would be permitted to print only the brand name in a mandated size, font and position.

He said that studies have shown that pictorial health warnings raise the awareness of tobacco users to the negative health and economic impacts associated with tobacco use.

He said Pakistan was a signatory to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) which was binding on all member states; the WHO requires parties to the convention to implement large, rotating health warnings on all packaging for tobacco products, and gives guidelines for labelling.