KARACHI, Nov 3: Sindh has been found to have the highest prevalence of smoking with 16.1 per cent population consisting of smokers, while the ratio in the NWFP is 7.1 per cent.

A WHO-sponsored country-wide survey conducted in 2001 also found 14.2 per cent of the individuals aged eight years and 19.4 per cent aged 15 years to be indulged in the habit.

Nearly a quarter - 25.4% - men from across the country were found to be smokers against 3.5% women noticed smoking. It was also slightly more prevalent in urban areas (15.2%) as compared to rural areas (13.7%).

The highest prevalence of cigarette smoking among male was seen among those aged between 25 and 44 years, contributing to 48.6% of all smokers. After the mentioned age, a certain decline in the habit among males in Punjab and the NWFP, whereas the other two provinces - Sindh and Balochistan - did not show any such trend.

The study concluded that while smoking was common in Pakistan no concerted effort had been made to modify public attitude towards the issue in the backdrop of the fact that it has emerged to be the single commonest cause behind 40 per cent of all cancers in the country.

Of the 65,000 established cases of cancer in Pakistan, 26,000 were attributed directly to smoking.

In Pakistan, 28 million smokers could be registered at any given time among the estimated 1.1 billion smokers across the globe. Tobacco revenue contributes to 0.7% of the GNP of the country, while during the last 20 years, adult per capita consumption of manufactured cigarettes has fluctuated between 650 and 700 cigarettes per annum.—APP