Pakistan’s annual death toll from smoking is the highest in South Asia and higher than the global average, according to Gallup Pakistan’s analysis of the Global Burden of Disease 2024 report.

According to the Global Burden of Disease 2024, Pakistan reported an annual death rate from smoking of 91.1 per 100,000 people, notably higher than the averages for South Asia (78.1) and the rest of the world (72.6), according to Gallup Pakistan, which is not affiliated with Gallup, the multinational analytics and advisory firm based in Washington DC.

“Between 1990 and 2021, Pakistan experienced a 35 per cent relative decrease in smoking-related death rates, which is lower than the reductions achieved by India (37pc), South Asia (38pc), and the global average (42pc),” Gallup Pakistan said in a report published on Tuesday.

According to the World Health Organisation, purchasing 100 packs of the most-sold cigarette brand in Pakistan requires 3.7pc of the GDP per capita. This figure is considerably lower than India’s 9.8pc and Bangladesh’s 4.2pc, it went on to say.

“From 2012 to 2022, the share of GDP per capita required to purchase 100 packs in Pakistan has increased by 38pc, reflecting rising cigarette prices.

According to a Gallup Pakistan opinion poll conducted in 2022, an overwhelming 80pc of smokers expressed a desire to quit smoking.

In November, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Health Department was urged to swiftly enact the eagerly awaited “KP Prohibition of Tobacco and Protection of Non-Smokers Health Bill” by the Provincial Alliance for Sustainable Tobacco Control. The bill has been pending since the Law Department reviewed it in 2016.

In June, a study discovered the presence of second-hand smoke in an alarming 95pc of children in Pakistan and Bangladesh, putting them at an increased risk of respiratory tract infections and, in cases of babies with hereditary disorders, death.