ISLAMABAD, (Parliament Times) : General (retd) Ashraf Khan, Patron of Pakistan National Heart Association (PANAHA), said that the main objective of PANAH is to alleviate the suffering of the people by raising awareness about heart diseases, for which we have been working for the last 37 years.Our efforts are underway with law and policy makers to prevent the risk of serious diseases, including heart disease.It is the duty of the people and law-making bodies to eradicate the root causes of deadly diseases.
He was addressing a special meeting of the “Civil Society Alliance” with General Secretary Sana Ullah Ghumman at a local hotel yesterday.On this occasion, Pran was accompanied by senior members of the PANAH and people belonging to different schools of thought. The ceremony began with the recitation of the Holy Quran.
General (retd) Ashraf Khan said that make your life easier.By incorporating simple diet, walking and exercise into the category, we can avoid deadly diseases.At the same time, eliminate the causes of serious diseases, including heart disease, from your life, so that you, your children and the whole society can move towards a healthy life.
General Secretary and Director Operations Sana Ullah Ghumman said that we have been working for 37 years to save lives and build a healthy society.If the causes of complex diseases including heart disease are not prevented, the economic burden will increase further., Which neither the people nor the government can afford. Research by various research organizations, including the World Health Organization, has shown that tax enforcement is an effective way to reduce consumption.In this regard, the Social Policy and Development Center (SPDC) report released last week made it clear that if FED is not increased, the consumption of cigarette packs will reach 115 million. Adult smoking will increase to 272,000, 95,000 deaths will increase and the revenue will be able to reach only Rs 9.9 billion with a very small amount.
He said that But if the government raises the FED on tobacco by 30%, the same figures will quickly prove to be a positive development.Consumption of cigarette packets to be reduced by 109 million,220,000 smokers will be reduced and future smokers will be reduced to 286,000,The biggest thing is that 77,000 people will be spared from being targeted by cigarettes and the government’s revenue will increase by Rs 30.3 billion annually.This proves that the implementation of FED will help in reducing deaths and increasing revenue.
Senior members of PANAH and other distinguished guests said that they are with him in the noble cause of PANAH.If further delays in the prevention of diseases occur, the risk of further increase in the economic burden of Rs 615 billion on diseases will increase.
At the end of the meeting, all the participants appealed to the government to prove that it is a Pakistani Nation’s Government by imposing at least 30% FED on tobacco to save the lives of those who die due to smoking and increase revenue.