KARACHI, Oct 4: Doctors have underlined the need for maintaining a balance between revenue generation through advertisements of unhealthy food goods and consequent health conditions fast enhancing pressure to raise budgetary allocations for health sector.

Prof Abdul Basit, President Pakistan Working Group on Diabetic Foot – a subsidiary of International Working Group on Diabetic Foot – on Wednesday regretted unchecked and aggressive promotional techniques of soft drink companies, junk food dealers and tobacco industries across the country.

“This is being done at the cost of public health,” he said while referring to constant surge in the incidence of non-communicable disease among all age groups from different segments of society.

Dr Basit, who is also the director of Baqai Institute of Diabetology, along with Dr Mansoor and Dr Ismet were unanimous in their opinion that a little consideration to counter the advertisement campaigns would effectively contain the aggravating pressure on health sector, with specific reference to heavy expenditure incurred on procurement of drugs, medicines and installation of state-of-art diagnostic/ interventional gadgets besides funds required to run and manage them.

It should be decided whether to have a healthy population and a viable efficient health sector or unchecked processed food and drink industry with its unwarranted promotional activities, they commented.

The diabetologists also suggested close collaboration among health care professionals, media personnel and policy makers to emerge as a strong segment protecting public rights to quality health. They called for enhancing public awareness ultimately enabling the masses to make the right choice of food and lifestyle for themselves.—APP