This means 12 people die every minute from tobacco consumption
KARACHI: ‘Smoking is injurious to health’ is perhaps the most clichéd health warning everyone has heard in in his or her life. Perhaps it is because of this very reason, its overuse and banality, that it does little in curbing the menace of smoking. According to a recent report, one person dies from tobacco consumption every five second, making chronic obstructive pulmonary disease the fourth-largest cause of death. This means 12 people die every minute from tobacco consumption.
In Pakistan alone, 171,000 people died due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. As a result, it becomes increasingly important for healthcare providers and governing bodies to devise plans to help people to quit smoking. Tried and tested strategies of awareness campaign and graphic warning signs on packets have not done much and hence newer and better measures are required.
Not only should streetside vendors’ cabins be barred from selling cigarettes to anyone below the age of 21 but smokers should also be attended to with care. Instead of lecturing someone out of smoking they should be cared for with affection and made to believe that support is available. It’s time we stopped ostracising smokers and instead helped them through this tough phase of their lives.
Madiha Ayaz
Published in The Express Tribune, June 5th, 2018.
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