ISLAMABAD, Aug 27: The Prohibition of Smoking and Protection of Non-Smoking Ordinance 2002 has died a natural death because of lack of regulation and poor implementation by the federal government.

In some urban centres, cigarette manufacturers are blatantly violating rules by putting up brand images and heavily investing into advertisements.

A brand image is described as any image associated with a particular brand and portrayed before buyers through different advertising tactics.

Clause 7 of the Ordinance prohibits advertisement of tobacco and states: “Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force, no person or company shall advertise tobacco and tobacco product on any media or in any place and any public service vehicle, if such advertisement is not in accordance with guidelines prescribed for this purpose by a committee which the Federal Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, constitute.”

The ordinance also declares tobacco advertisements in public as a cognizable offence.

Under the penalties clause, “any violation shall be punishable with a fine which may extend to Rs5,000 and in case of second or subsequent offence, it shall be punishable with imprisonment which may extend to three months, or with a fine which shall not be less than Rs100,000, or with both.”

According to Barrister Mohammad Afzal, a senior lawyer at the Islamabad High Court: “Any company which violates the ordinance is committing a crime since it is ignoring state laws.”

The barrister said that national and multinational cigarette manufacturers should not violate the ordinance: “Officials of such concerns must give due respect to ordinances and other government guidelines issued from time to time for the safety of public health.”

He claimed that despite devolution such presidential ordinances stay intact: “It is the federal and provincial governments that have to improve coordination for better implementation and regulation of industries such as cigarette manufacturing.”

When asked to comment on the violation of ordinance by the tobacco industry, Ms Nosheen Saeed, a Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PMLQ) legislator, asserted: “There are a few acts of the parliament which whenever are enforced lead to increased violations and crime.”

Ms Saeed maintained that all institutions at federal and provincial level have to play a role in implementation of such ordinances otherwise they will be nothing but pieces of papers.

“The presidential ordinances are supposed to be respected through implementation but the government of the day itself does not seem serious. Such violations by national and multinational cigarette companies need to be checked,” asserted Ms Saeed.She admitted that it was strange on part of the federal government that it was ignoring the matter.

Indeed, the implementation arm of the federal government — Tobacco Cell — which works under the Health Services Academy (HSA), has been dormant as it has failed to take any stark action against the cigarette manufacturing industry which is continually violating different clauses of the Tobacco Ordinance 2002.

On her part, the newly appointed director general of Health Services Academy, Dr Huma Qureshi maintained: “I have just taken over the additional charge of HSA and will definitely look into the concerns. But I do need some time to address the issues linked with the violations.”