RECENTLY the Lahore district coordination officer (DCO) started a crackdown on cafes serving oxygen shots, with glass cylinders and plastic cannula inserted in the inhalers’ nostrils. An artificial intake of oxygen prescribed by doctors is helpful during treatment of diseases like cancer, AIDS and arthritis. But oxygen bar visitors claim that it helps to reduce stress, headaches, etc., as well as increases energy and alertness.

Nevertheless, these benefits do not have long-term physiological effects. The Lahore High Court has termed oxygen shots as injurious to health. A person inhales 21pc of oxygen concentration in the air, whereas oxygen cylinders have up to 95 pc concentrated oxygen.

This excess intake without significant medical purposes leads to lungs injury.

We have not had a national tree plantation drive for years. Although political figures do hold small-scale symbolic plantation events in their vicinity, do we have long-term national goals about the green policy?

Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf vows to bring a ‘billion-trees tsunami’ in KP.

Ideally, a country should have 15pc of its land area occupied with forests. While only the KP government claims to increase its forests by 27,000 acres every year, the people of Pakistan, now almost 200m, need sufficient oxygen in the air to live a healthy life.

As active citizens, do we worry about our health as much as we do about designer outfits and fancy weddings? We need clean air to stay a healthy nation.

Tahreen Akbar

Islamabad

Published in Dawn February 23rd , 2015

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