Civil society welcomes Sindh ban on smokeless tobacco

PESHAWAR: Representatives of civil society organisations have welcomed the Sindh government decision to ban substances injurious to health, such as shisha, gutka and mainpuri through proper legislation and demanded the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to expedite the legislation regarding smokeless tobacco control.

Addressing a news conference at the Peshawar Press Club on Monday, Basic Integrated Rural Development Society (BIRDS) chairperson Dr Riaz Yousafzai said that KP is lagging behind in legislation on smokeless tobacco, while Sindh had made progress in this regard.

Flanked by Qasim Ali Khawaja, communication coordinator Coalition for Tobacco Control-Pakistan (CTC-Pak) and Faraz Ahmad, he said the Sindh government had set a great example for other provinces and federal capital to give serious attention to pending tobacco control laws.

“It’s our duty to watch for tobacco industries’ tactics to lure our children as future smokers,” he said and maintained that it was the best way to make the commoners aware of health hazards associated with tobacco use as have enhanced Pictorial Health Warnings (PHW) on cigarette packs.

The Ministry of National Health Services, Regulation and Coordination (MNHSRC), Yousafzai said, had demonstrated exemplary measures by ordering the enhanced PHW from 40 to 85 percent on the front and back side of cigarette packs in 2015.

Expressing concerns, he said that since the announcement of the public health measures, the tobacco industry has managed to influence the MNHSRC for delaying the implementation of enhanced pictorial policy, which resulted in a great setback in controlling the abuse of tobacco.

He condemned the pressure of tobacco industries over government and public institutions and demanded of the legislatures to immediately enforce large graphic health warning on cigarette packs and implementation of tobacco control laws.Praising the Sindh government, he said the Chief Minister Sindh Murad Ali Shah and his cabinet had taken a bold step to ban gutka and mainpuri for the wellbeing of common people.