RAWALPINDI, (Parliament Times) : SanaUllah Ghumman, General Secretary and Director Operations of Pakistan National Heart Association (PANAH), said that “in three years most essential commodities in last three years have become significantly expensive. Sadly, tobacco pricec, which is hazardous remain stagnant.” Tobacco remains an alarming issue for the country and a leading cause for non-communicable diseases. About 170,000 people die in Pakistan every year due to tobacco related diseases. He states that according to World Health Organisation about 10% increase in taxes in tobacco can help reduce consumption to about 8% in lower-income countries like Pakistan.
He said that Various studies published in September 2020 with the help of the World Health Organization (WHO) have shown that tobacco use causes heart disease, coronary heart disease (CHD) is as complex as most non-communicable chronic diseases. One of the main causes of which is the use of tobacco and smoking, obesity with heart disease And the risk of developing diabetes also increases. Globally, heart disease is the leading cause of death and disability, heart disease causes the loss of lives of 9.4 million people, and 203 million people become disabled. According to Dr. Naeem Malik, Chairman Cardiac Center, PIMS Hospital, 47 people are losing their lives every hour in Pakistan today due to heart attack.
He added that what is even more alarming is that according to a 2021 study released by Pakistan Institute of Development Economics the health burden of tobacco products on Pakistan costs about Rs. 615 billion. Public health experts are concerned that the government has not been able to increase prices to curb this health burden. He said that tobacco control needs to be tied in the vision for Naya Pakistan. Pakistan is a largely young population and we must protect our precious youth from initiating smoking, by raising taxes on tobacco products.