ISLAMABAD, Aug 29: The government on Thursday issued two draft ordinances on protection of breast-feeding and young child nutrition and prohibition of smoking and protection of non- smokers health.

The ordinances have been circulated to ascertain public opinion as well as of the stakeholders. After receiving the feedback from the public, the health ministry will submit these ordinances before the cabinet for approval.

The purpose of the ordinance relating to protection of breast-feeding and young child nutrition is to ensure safe and adequate nutrition of infants and young children by promoting and protecting breast-feeding and by regulating the marketing of designated infants foods, including mother milk substitutes.

The draft ordinance realized that mother’s milk was the best food for the baby and baby formula and food industry, for its vested economic interest, had been promoting these substitutes in a way that mothers were misled and breastfeeding was discouraged.

It discourages promotion of infant formulas, asking the distributor or manufacturer not to give donations or gifts of a designated product to any person including the health care facility.

It disallows the manufacturer from donating equipment to a health care facility, or offering or giving any benefit to a professional association of medical practitioners, including fellowship, training study grants and funding for attendance of meetings, seminars, continuing education courses or conferences.

It also states that no manufacturer will produce or distribute any educational or informational material relating to infant and young child feeding except for health professionals, besides no designated product can be manufactured, sold or otherwise distributed in Pakistan unless it is formulated industrially in accordance with the laid down standards.

Meanwhile, the Islamabad Prohibition of Smoking and Protection of Non-smoking health Ordinance 2002 described smoking as a serious health hazard and responsible for increased mortality and for 90 per cent of lung cancer deaths, 75 per cent of bronchitis deaths and 24 per cent of ischemic heart disease deaths under 65 years of age.

It said non-smokers were also equally at risk due to involuntary inhaling of smoke emitted by smokers.

It said the purpose of the ordinance was to protect the health of the nation by banning smoking in enclosed public places to eliminate the risks of passive or involuntary smoking and to protect the rights of non-smokers to a smoke-free environment. Š The ordinance prohibits smoking in public and enclosed places like public transport, schools, hospitals, offices and workplaces. It also asks that no person shall advertise in any place and in any public service vehicle, which may promote smoking or sale of cigarettes. Similarly, no person will sell cigarettes or any other smoking substance to anyone who is under the age of 18 years and no person will himself or by any person on his behalf store, sell or distribute cigarettes or any other smoking substance in the vicinity of any college, school or educational institution.

The owners or managers or in charges of every place of public work will display boards of “no smoking zones” and that “smoking is an offence”.