WHO announces anti-tobacco award for Pakistan

Islamabad : The World Health Organisation’s Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean has announced World No Tobacco Day 2021 Award for Pakistan in recognition of its efforts to curb the use of tobacco.

The international award will be given to the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination on the occasion of ‘World No Tobacco Day – Commit to quit’ which will be observed on May 31 across the globe. The Secretariat of the Framework Convention for Tobacco Control (FCTC) had already recognized the Smoke-Free Islamabad model by displaying a snapshot of the smoke-free Rose and Jasmin Garden on the title page of its annual report. Pakistan has been applauded for implementing the “M” measures (monitoring of tobacco use policies) in the MPOWER package to the highest level.

Ironically, the award comes at a time when the Tobacco Control Cell, which was steering the country’s anti-tobacco interventions, has been disbanded.