ISLAMABAD, Dec 5: Parents and teachers must take measures to ensure that children do not get addicted to pornography while using internet, Dr Mehnaz Ayesha, an associate professor of paediatrics at Dow Medical College, said on Sunday.

The paediatric expert stressed emergency action on this front. She said although internet clubs were proliferating, the country was still on its threshold and the time to curb the menace was now.

Dr Ayesha presented a study on 'Exposure of pornography at the internet cafes of Pakistan' at the national consultation meeting hosted by a local NGO, Struggle for Change (SACH), and the Pakistan Paediatrics Association.

She said if parents failed to act, their children could be overwhelmed by this menace. She said even internet cafes in villages were exposing children and adolescents to pornographic material, according to the study conducted by a team of nine experts, including Dr Mehnaz Ayesha.

The team surveyed 50 internet cafes in Karachi, Lahore and Peshawar. According to the survey, children who thronged the internet clubs belonged to the lower middle class or the lower strata of the society. They were of various ages, but most of them were between the ages of 12 and 18.

As many as 70 per cent of these children watched porn sites, seductive films or over-suggestive songs. Very few children or adolescents used the internet cafes for sending or receiving e- mails or for education purposes.

Nearly 30 per cent out of 56 children interviewed in the investigation owned up the fact that they visited internet clubs without their parents' knowledge. Research has established that 50 per cent of the sex offenders used pornography and had behaviour problems. Crime rates are four times higher in areas where sex-oriented business functions.