1200 School Going Children Being Pushed Towards Smoking: Ghuman

General Secretary and Director Operations, Pakistan National Heart Association (PANAH) Sana Ullah Ghuman Thursday said 1,200 school going children were being pushed towards smoking as the prices of all essential commodities had increased significantly during the last three years, but tobacco prices were stagnant

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 27th Jan, 2022 ) :General Secretary and Director Operations, Pakistan National Heart Association (PANAH) Sana Ullah Ghuman Thursday said 1,200 school going children were being pushed towards smoking as the prices of all essential commodities had increased significantly during the last three years, but tobacco prices were stagnant.

He said one of the major reasons for this was the campaign run by the tobacco industry, which spread misinformation, as a result of which tobacco was available in the markets of Pakistan at the cheapest prices as compared to other countries and accessible to youth and children, said a media release.

Ghuman said, "Smoking is not the only priority of PANAH's campaign but the business of Tobacco Industry is becoming more common.

Buyers include a large number of young boys and girls, among them smoking is on the rise." He added that various investigations have shown that raising taxes on tobacco would strengthen the economy and have a positive impact on Pakistan.

Sana Ullah Ghumman said the purpose of PANAH was to make people aware of the dangers to health. "One of them is tobacco use which is a major cause of heart, cancer and respiratory diseases. Increasing tobacco tax helps prevent young people from smoking, the current government must protect our youth from becoming addicted to tobacco."