ISLAMABAD
\nMinister for Petroleum Musadik Masood Malik has underscored the need for collective action against tobacco use.
\nHe expressed these words in his address at a seminar titled \u2018Sustainable Tobacco Control Policies: A Way to Healthier Pakistan\u2019 organized by the Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (SPARC) at a local hotel the other day.
\nThe event aimed at bringing together government officials, public health advocates, civil society members, anti-tobacco activists, and youth leaders to address the growing tobacco epidemic in Pakistan and advocate for comprehensive policy reforms.
\nMusadik Malik stated, \u201cSmoking is causing overall harm rather than any benefit. The fight against smoking will not be easy, but it is crucial. The real fight against smoking is a fight against the mafia.\u201d
\nHighlighting the severe health implications, he added, \u201cSmoking has the deepest connection with cancer, and there is hardly any disease that isn\u2019t linked to it. Every year, 150,000 to 200,000 people die from smoking. Why can\u2019t we see the faces of our people in those numbers?\u201d
\nFormer caretaker minister of information and broadcasting Murtaza Solangi also spoke on the occasion.
\nHe emphasized the need to take tobacco as a national issue.
\n\u201cFirst of all, we have to see it as an issue; this is not even yet seen as an issue,\u201d he remarked.
\nHe called for a unified approach, stating, \u201cWe have to create an ecosystem where media and everything around us reflects an anti-tobacco stance.\u201d
\nDr. Khalil Ahmad, Program Manager at SPARC, while addressing a seminar, emphasized the deadly toll of tobacco use in Pakistan, explaining, \u201cTobacco use is costing 166,000 lives each year, which equates to almost 450 deaths per day.\u201d
\nHe urged the government to take critical steps to curb tobacco consumption, particularly among the youth.
\nDr. Mati ur Rehman from the Health Services Academy, Sabir, an economist from the Social Policy and Development Centre (SPDC), Khalida Ahmad, a board member of SPARC, Senator Sana Jamali, Nisar Ahmad Cheema, a parliamentarian, and prominent anti-tobacco activists, among others, were also in attendance and spoke on the occasion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISLAMABAD Minister for Petroleum Musadik Masood Malik has underscored the need for collective action against tobacco use. He expressed these words in his address at a seminar titled \u2018Sustainable Tobacco Control Policies: A Way to Healthier Pakistan\u2019 organized by the Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (SPARC) at a local hotel […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":421656,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-438339","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business"],"yoast_head":"\n