KARACHI, June 6: Pakistan has an estimated 20 million tobacco users who spend Rs2 billion annually on this harmful commodity and its bi-products.

This was observed by senior researcher and ENT surgeon Prof Umar Farooq while speaking at a workshop held at the Ojha Institute of Chest Diseases of the Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS) on Monday to mark 'World No-tobacco Day'.

He said unchecked marketing and use of these hazardous products had increased 10 fold the incidence of oral and throat cancers in the country.

Prof Farooq, who is also the pro-vice chancellor of DUHS, said cigarette, cigar, pipe, sheesha and other means of smoking held their own risks that severely compromised public health. “We register about 3.5 million smoking- and tobacco-induced deaths every year and the trend, if not checked effectively, may push up the figure to 10 million by 2020,” he warned.

Dr Iftikhar Ahmed, director of the Ojha institute, Prof Raza-ur-Rehman, chairman of the Civil Hospital Karachi's psychiatry department, and Prof Shakeel Auj, an eminent scholar, also spoke.—AP