2 June 2021 – At a World No Tobacco Day event in Pakistan, WHO Representative Dr Palitha Mahipala highlighted WHO's commitment to stopping the tobacco epidemic as tobacco use was killing 8 million people every year with someone dying of a tobacco-related disease every 4 seconds.
World No Tobacco Day is observed around the world every year on 31 May and the campaign aims to raise the awareness of the public of the dangers of tobacco use and the harmful business practices of tobacco companies.
“Alarmingly over 400 people die from tobacco use in Pakistan every day,” said Dr Palitha. He applauded the measures taken by the Government in controlling tobacco use, which included placing large-sized pictorial health warnings on tobacco packages, banning the sale of loose cigarettes, banning point-of-sale displays and increasing tobacco taxation. He advocated for further increases in tobacco taxation, saying, “There is a need to make cigarettes unaffordable and implement a health levy or health tax that could be used for health promotion efforts." He called for measures to implement WHO's "best buys' in preventing and controlling noncommunicable diseases and addressing tobacco-related risk factors and noted that WHO had donated gyms in Pakistan to curb the epidemic of inactivity.
Dr Faisal Sultan, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on National Health Services, expressed his appreciation of WHO support to tobacco control efforts in Pakistan and said that the Government was taking stringent measures to curb tobacco use. He expressed his support for further increasing tobacco taxation.
To mark the Day, WHO, in collaboration with the Ministry of National Health Services Regulation and Coordination, organized a cycling rally and walk, which was attended by Dr Nousheen Hamid, Parliamentary Secretary on Health, doctors, representatives of youth organizations and anti-tobacco activists. Dr Hamid apprised participants of the steps taken by the Government of Pakistan in curbing the epidemic of tobacco use in Pakistan.
