ISLAMABAD: A pro-consumer body has drawn the attention of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervez Khattak towards a TV footage in which he was shown smoking at public place in violation of Prevention of Smoking and Protection of Non-Smoking Law 2002.

The footage showed the KP chief minister not only smoking at public place but in the presence of his party chairman Imran Khan and the Inspector General of Police (IGP) of his province. TheNetwork for Consumer Protection in the letter told the chief minister that under the law this entailed a fine of Rs1,000 that could be raised to Rs100,000 in case of second violation.

According to the letter the KP CM has not only violated the law but he has done so in the presence of the IGP of the province, a person who is supposed to impose the law.

“Smoking publicly is a violation of the Section 5 of the Tobacco Control Law. The law prohibits any form of smoking in public places or government offices,” TheNetwork’s Executive Coordinator (EC) Nadeem Iqbal said in the letter.

“We regret this act by the province’s chief executive who represents highest public office in the province,” the EC of TheNetwork goes on to say.

“This act not only speaks volumes about the CM’s indifference to the laws of the land, it also sends a wrong message to the youngsters who are generally attracted by such TV footages of public figures and tend to copy them,” he said.

TV footage shows CM not only smoking at public place but in the presence of Imran Khan and IG police

“At a time when the federal government, resisting all types of tactics and pressure from the tobacco industry and cigarette companies, is going in a right direction with its decision to adopt enhanced (85 per cent) pictorial health warnings on cigarette packs, the act of the chief executive of a province does nothing but serves the cause of the tobacco industry,” says the letter.

NGO also reminded the CM that his party leader had always been in the forefront in the fight against cancer as tobacco was a strong predictor of cancer.

“In Pakistan, 70 per cent lung cancer and 90 per cent oral cancer are caused mainly due to smoking. This alarming figure not only raises the healthcare cost of the country but also deprives it of economic resources,” says Nadeem Iqbal.

“Therefore, it is most desirable that the chief minister should lead from the front in eliminating the menace of tobacco from the province thus introducing strong tobacco control laws in the province,” he said.

It is pertinent to mention that a couple of years ago Balochistan a similar letter was written to the then governor Nawab Zulfiqar Magsi as he was also seen smoking publicly. He responded promptly and promised that he won’t smoke in public places again.

Similarly, the Sindh education minister, Nisar Khoro, was also spotted by a TV channel while smoking in a school’s award-giving ceremony and his attention was also drawn to the fact that being education minister his responsibility was broader in nature. He also responded positively.

An official of the ministry of national health services requesting not to be identified said that politicians should not ruin the efforts of the ministry against tobacco. The Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaaf’s Central Information Secretary Dr Shireen Mazari did not receive call.

An SMS was also sent to her, seeking her party’s position with regard to the violation by the chief minister. She was also asked whether any action has been taken against the CM or the IGP, but Ms Mazari did not respond.

Published in Dawn March 21st , 2015

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