KARACHI, May 27: Medical experts on Thursday urged the government to impose a complete ban on tobacco promotion in print and electronic media and its sale in all forms, including cigarette, pan, gutka , as five million people die every year due to tobacco-related diseases globally.

Delivering presentation at a seminar held in connection with the World No-Tobacco Day by the Chest Medicine department, Sindh Government Hospital Korangi-5, at SGHK, Dr Nadeem Rizvi, Head of Chest Medicine, Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, observed that tobacco was the most common cause of death among the people aged 35 or above.

"Tobacco is the cause of at least 85 per cent cases of lung cancer, cancers of mouth, throat, kidney, bladder and stroke, besides chronic bronchitis and emphysema," he said, adding that passive smoking was also dangerous for unborn babies, children and adults.

Smoking by women during pregnancy, could cause slower physical development of the fetus and premature births, he said and added that the babies exposed to parental tobacco use were more likely to suffer respiratory tract infection and asthma.

Dr Shakil Siddiqui, Consultant Chest Physician, SGHK, said that inhaled tobacco smoke was the most important determinant in the etiology of lung cancer and there was a clear dose-effect relation between lung cancer risk and duration of smoking, number of cigarette smoked and intensity of inhalation.

"Exposure to indoor air pollution such as tobacco smoke may exacerbate childhood asthma and smoking during pregnancy causes increase in incidence of asthma among children," he added.

"Smokers not only increase their own risk of pulmonary disease but contribute to the health risk for non-smokers through the production of environmental tobacco smoke," Dr Shakil said and added that there was a growing concern about the risk of lung cancer to women, particularly among female never-smokers exposed to tobacco smoke in home and workplaces.

Elaborating the benefits of quitting smoking, he said that the smokers who quitted in their early thirties, avoided almost all of the risks of premature death from smoking. There were clear health benefits, including that of longer life, for those who quitted at 60 and above, he said. He underlined the need to create more smoke-free environment and urged to impose stronger smoking restrictions nationwide.

Prof Tariq Rafi, Head of ENT department, JPMC, spoke on the hazards of smokeless tobacco and observed that mouth cancer ranked second in Pakistan due to growing use of smokeless tobacco.

He said that chewing tobacco including the use of pan, supari, gutka and naswar, was a big menace in our society. He emphasized on the education of patients and public regarding the hazards of tobacco consumption.

Dr S M Khalid, Chest Consultant at SGHK, said that sub mucous fibrosis (inability to open mouth completely) was very common in Landhi and Korangi areas due to massive use of supari, gutka, pan and maipuri. He urged urgent efforts to overcome the situation. -PPI