APROPOS the news report ‘Federal cabinet bans sale of loose cigarettes’ (March 7), this is a commendable step by the government as most teenagers start experimenting with tobacco by buying loose cigarettes.

Smoking kills over 110,000 people annually in Pakistan and despite several laws that the government has introduced there has been no decline in smoking rates in the country in the past several years. The reason is very simple: laws only exist on paper and no practical steps are taken for their implementation. Take, for example, the laws regarding the ban on the sale of cigarettes to people under 18, the prohibition on smoking at public places, and the restriction on the sale of cigarettes within 50 meters of all educational institutions. Their enforcement is yet to see the light of day.

If our government is serious about curbing the tobacco epidemic, then it needs to implement existing laws with force. Two additional steps are also needed: make cigarettes expensive by increased taxation and introduce large pictorial health warnings on cigarette packs.

Unfortunately, in Pakistan cigarette prices were decreased in the last year’s budget. Hence, while the recent an is laudable, Pakistan still has a long way to go.

Prof Javaid Khan
Karachi

Published in Dawn, April 5th, 2018