ISLAMABAD: Civil society representatives have claimed that the Ministry of National Health Services (NHS) has submitted forged figures to the World Health Organisation (WHO) in its report regarding the implementation of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC).

A shadow report released on Friday alleges that the ministry’s claims regarding policies, increase in taxes and steps taken for discouraging the use of tobacco were also incorrect.

The report titled: ‘A Civil Society Shadow Report: Implementation of FCTC in Pakistan 2016’ was launched during a press conference at the National Press Club.

Pakistan signed the FCTC in 2004 and ratified it next year, due to which it has to submit a report about the implementation of the convention every two years.

The report submitted to the WHO says the government has made a plan of action for tobacco control and has been coordinating with the provinces for its implementation.

The shadow report refutes this and says the government does not have any national tobacco control strategy.

The report submitted to the WHO claims the Ministry of NHS’s Tobacco Control Cell (TCC) is devising a sustainable funding mechanism for tobacco control while the shadow report says budgetary allocations for tobacco control were never made.

The ministry has claimed that a guideline was made to protect policies from the vested interests of the tobacco industry while the shadow report says there was a lack of transparency when dealing with the tobacco industry, which has a huge influence on the government.

The government has claimed that a lump sum tax of 65pc was imposed on cigarettes which the shadow report refutes, saying that the Federal Excise Duty is 59pc, which is lower than FCTC recommendations and that the price of cigarette packets were also lower than what is recommended by the convention.

The ministry has said Islamabad was declared a smoke free city and that public parks and health and educational institutions were smoke free when the shadow report says that though Islamabad was declared smoke free, citizens were not aware of complaining procedures and forms.

The government said health standards are strictly followed when manufacturing cigarettes while the shadow report says Pakistani laws bind the tobacco industry to disclose nicotine and tar contents on packets, which is not enforced.

Head of the NGO, The Network, Nadeem Iqbal said that legislations regarding tobacco were drafted in 1958, 1960, 1979 and 2002, however, no new legislation was done after ratifying the FCTC in 2005.

“Cigarette prices are 17pc less than international prices and though NHS Minister Saira Afzal Tarar was awarded for announcing the enhancement of pictorial warning on cigarette packets from 40 to 85pc in 2015, that announcement is yet to be implemented,” he said.

Mr Iqbal added that cigarette packets are placed next to sweets in shops, which attracts children towards them and that the government should take notice of this practice.

Health expert Dr Maria Qureshi said tobacco control was not a priority for the government, even though 1,200 children in the country take up smoking each day.

“Every year, 110,000 people die of tobacco related diseases and there are about 400 toxic ingredients in cigarettes, which are not listed on the packets,” she said.

TCC Project Manager Mohammad Javed said that only gaps have been highlighted in the shadow reports and that gaps should not be taken as “incorrect information”.

“For example, the shadow report says that ingredients are not listed on cigarette packets, but we do not have laboratories for testing and getting accurate data [about cigarettes],” he said.

“We have imposed a ban on smoking in public spaces and during events, which is not mentioned in the shadow report,” he added.

Published in Dawn October 22nd, 2016