KARACHI: Demand for ban on cigarette advertisements
By Our Staff Reporter
KARACHI, June 10: Doctors at an awareness-raising programme highlighting the hazards of smoking demanded immediate ban on cigarette ads and implementation of relevant laws.
They said smoking must be banned at workplace and public spots as environmental tobacco smoke contained at least 50 substances known to cause cancer.
The programme, World No Tobacco Day: Smoke Free Environment, was organised by the Pakistan Medical Association Karachi and the Sindh chapter of Pakistan Chest Society at the PMA House on Saturday.
Dr Sirajuddula Syed, head of pathology department, Dow University of Health Sciences, said since cigarette ads had been allowed in all forms widespread use of cigarette especially among youth was registered. The target of tobacco companies, he said, were teenagers who were lured into this habit through exciting ads.
It’s their motto to make teenagers life-long customers and international studies show that 80 to 90pc of adult smokers start smoking in their teenage, he said.
He said that the tobacco companies had realised as early as in 1970s that with the growing awareness about the hazards of tobacco in the developed world sooner or later they had to restrict their business.
They decided to move to the underdeveloped countries where weak legislation and implementation allow them to flourish their business, he said.
Cigarette smoking, he said, had proved to be an addiction stronger than heroin, opium and other drugs because there was no stigma attached to it and it was very much socially acceptable.
About the health hazards attached to smoking, he said that everyday about 100 to 125 cases of oral cavity and pharynx cancer were reported at different hospitals of the city. Unchecked sale and use of gutka was another major contributing factor to this high number of cancer cases, he said, adding that gutka contained dangerous addictive chemicals that made people hooked to certain brands.
Dr Sirajuddula said that tobacco use in any shape was dangerous as it had far reaching adverse impact on health. Women smokers experience more severe premenstrual symptoms and a 50pc increase in menstrual cramps. It also increases the risk of abortion and children being born with low IQ and birth weight, he said.
Besides, he said immunity level was also affected by cigarette smoking making the smoker prone to infections. The risk of coronary disease, stroke, heart attack, various cancers and chronic obstructive lung disease also multiplied with smoking, he said.
Giving some figures about the prevalence of cigarette smoking and lung cancer in the country, he said that a survey carried out in the year 2002 found that 40 per cent men and eight per cent women in the country were smokers.
Over 90 per cent of lung cancers occur in smokers, he said, adding that over 1,200 children start smoking every year.
Dr Nadeem Rizvi, head of pulmonary medicine department, Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, said the environmental tobacco smoke (passive smoking) was the third leading cause of preventable deaths in the US, killing 53,000 non-smokers every year.
He said, The environmental tobacco smoke contains over 4,000 substances and at least 50 of them are known to cause cancer. In 1993, the Environmental Protection Agency released a report stating that the environmental tobacco smoke is responsible for about 3,000 lung cancer deaths annually among non-smokers in the US, he added.
He said there was an estimated 16pc increased risk of lung cancer among non-smoking spouses of smokers. For workplace exposure, the estimated increase in risk was found at 17 per cent for lung cancer and 30 per cent for heart diseases, he said.
The Environmental Protection Agency also proved that passive smoking in children caused 150,000 to 300,000 cases of lower respiratory tract infections annually in the US. Strong evidence for acute and chronic middle ear disease increased risk up to 40 per cent.
