KARACHI, Nov 7: The per person consumption of cigarette per year in Pakistan is the highest in South Asia with Rs560 million going into smoke daily and making smoking become the single most important risk factor to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a leading cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide.

This was observed by experts and other participants of a seminar held at the Aga Khan University auditorium here on Tuesday to mark the 6th annual World COPD Day. Dr Mohammad Irfan, Prof Nawal Salahuddin, Prof Javaid Khan and Dr Suleman Haque spoke at the seminar on the theme: “Breathless not helpless”.

About the prevalence of COPD, Dr Mohammad Irfan said the devastating lung disease that progressively robbed the sufferer of breath was the fifth leading cause of death in the high-income countries and sixth leading cause of death in the low- and middle-income states.

“More than three million people die from the disease every year. In Pakistan, the estimated COPD mortality rate is 71 deaths per 100,000, the fourth highest rate among the 25 most populous nations in the world,” said Dr Irfan, adding that cigarette smoking was the single most important cause of COPD. He said that 73 per cent of COPD mortality was related to smoking.

According to the UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) report of August 2002, cigarettes consumption per person per year in Pakistan was the highest in South Asia. A speaker cited an AKU report to point out that 1,200 children in the age group of 6-16 years took up smoking every day in Pakistan.

Dr Salahuddin discussed the symptoms of COPD which include coughing, bringing up sputum and getting out of breath during exercise or exertion. The causes of COPD include exposure to occupational dust and chemicals and indoor smoke from biomass fuel.

He said the treatment was available but its effectiveness depended on the stage of diagnosis.

The speakers urged the government to take measures to reduce the burden of COPD on the national exchequer. The measures included creating public awareness of the hazards of smoking, imposition of a ban on tobacco advertising, increasing tax on tobacco product and stopping tobacco companies from sponsoring sports and entertainment events to promote their business.