KMC bans smoking in parks, hospitals

KARACHI: Karachi Metropolitan Commissioner Dr Syed Saifur Rehman said on Wednesday that a ban has been imposed on smoking in Karachi Metropolitan Corporation's (KMC) parks, hospitals and departmental offices. Speaking in a meeting with the Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (SPARC) on Wednesday, Dr Rehman said that a campaign to raise awareness about harmful affects of smoking should be initiated to discourage children from indulging in this bad habit. KMC will cooperate with all organisations in this regard, he added.

Kashif Mirza of SPARC shared details of a project based on collecting data on how tobacco is marketed. There are laws to control tobacco sale to minors, he said, adding that reduced smoking will result in better health and decrease government expenditure on public health.

Dr Rehman appreciated SPARC's efforts and said that KMC will launch a campaign against smoking in connection with World No-Tobacco Day which is observed on May 31.



According to a global youth tobacco survey, 13.3% boys and 6.6% girls in the age bracket 13 to 15 years use tobacco. There is a ban on the sale of tobacco to persons under 18 years of age.  

Published in The Express Tribune, May 16^th, 2019.