ISLAMABAD, May 29: As many as 27 per cent of Islamabad children of 14 to 18 years of age are smokers, a study has shown.

The study, entitled the “Tobacco Free Initiative”, was a project of a local NGO called The Network for Consumer Protection.

Speaking at a press conference, Dr Ihsan Latif of The Network said the alarming increase in the number of child smokers in the capital called for immediate attention of the authorities concerned.

A number of students of the private schools of twin cities were invited to the press conference to convey their apprehensions in this regard.

Usman Tariq, one of the students, said studies after studies had shown that smoking was hazardous to health and children most vulnerable to the menace.

He was of the view that it was only the government which could effectively stop further spread of this menace to 68 million children under the age of 18 in Pakistan.

Rabia Tariq, another student, informed the reporters that in Pakistan 37 per cent men and four per cent women were active smokers.

Ambreen quoted a study to warn that half of the passive smokers — those inhaling smoke from others’ cigarettes — either died eventually or ended up with debilitating diseases.

Commenting on the proposed legislation on tobacco, another student said partial bans on tobacco promotion were ineffective and necessitated a total ban on all kinds of advertisements.

A 50-foot long banner was displayed at the press conference, carrying signatures of the children of all age groups who had expressed concern over the increasing number of smokers in Pakistan.

The students also demanded that the health ministry should add pictorial and verbal anti-smoking messages on cigarette packs. These warnings should cover at least half of the front of a pack, they maintained.

It may be added here that the theme of this year’s international No-Tobacco Day (June 5) is “Tobacco-free sports: play it clean” with reference to the launching of FIFA’s World Cup football competition which has been declared tobacco-free by both the FIFA and the WHO.