KARACHI: Marking the World No Tobacco Day, representatives of the healthcare community and rights activists on Tuesday called for the government to give priority to health over business in order to save children from tobacco.

The representatives of Coalition for Tobacco Control-Pakistan (CTC-Pak) — a coalition of more than 250 civil society partner organisations from the four provinces — said at a news conference at the Karachi Press Club that while the world was going for stricter tobacco control policies, people in Pakistan were still waiting for the government to fulfil the commitment it had made two years ago to implement 85 per cent enhanced pictorial health warning (PHW) on cigarette packs.

“The PHW cautions smokers and others around them about the health hazards from tobacco use. But unfortunately, the decision for larger warning on cigarette packs in public health interest has not been implemented so far,” regretted Asad Iqbal Butt, vice-chairman of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan’s Sindh chapter.

Asking the government to implement the PHW decision immediately, he said: “More than 555,000 children use tobacco daily. This puts our future at stake.”

A WHO report shared with the media states that disproportionate tobacco use harms some of the world’s most vulnerable populations.

“More than 80pc of the world’s smokers live in low- and middle-income countries, where the harms of tobacco use are further exacerbated by a lack of access to healthcare. Tobacco use also creates economic burden, costing countries a staggering one trillion dollars a year in healthcare costs and lost productivity,” it says.

The speakers said that around the world, proven measures to reduce tobacco use had greatly reduced health and economic costs associated with tobacco. The measures included increased tobacco taxes, large pictorial warning labels on tobacco products and restrictions on tobacco advertising and ban on smoking in indoor public places, said advocate Usman Siddiqui.

Bilal Zafar Solangi, a CTC partner, said the existing PHWs were implemented in 2010 which were supposed to be rotary every year. After five years in 2015, the government was to enhance the warning size from 40pc to 85pc. He said the tobacco industry always targeted new smokers among youth and productive force of the nation.

“The tobacco industry’s deep pockets, skilled lobbying and clever marketing campaigns targeting youth and children remain the greatest obstacle to progress in addressing the devastating global toll of tobacco use,” he added.

Habib Junaidi, convener of the Sindh Labour Solidarity Committee, expressed concern over the new budget proposals vis-à-vis taxes on tobacco, saying these would make cigarettes cheaply available to the youth.

The speakers said countries were fighting back. Referring to the recent landmark ruling by the World Trade Organisation in favour of Australia’s plain packaging law, they said courts and countries were recognising that the right to health was more important than tobacco industry profits.

They said countries must implement the proven measures to help achieve development goals and protect future generations.

Published in Dawn, May 31st, 2017