LAHORE, Nov 4: Punjab health minister Dr.Tahir Ali Javed has stressed the need for launching a massive awareness campaign for sensitizing people about hazardous aspects of smoking with a view to preventing heart, lungs, bronchitis and other fatal diseases.

Chairing a departmental meeting to review action plans regarding communicable and non-communicable diseases, the minister said it was high time to promote social mobilization against smoking and hepatitis B and C.

He said billions of rupees were being wasted on smoking annually which was a major cause of spread of deadly diseases like heart attack.

He said the government had made arrangements to vaccinate 1.8 million one-year-old children free of cost against Hepatitis B. He said the government would also provide hepatitis vaccine on nominal charges to the public.