Pakistan Among15 Countries With Heavy Burden Of Tobacco Addiction, Deaths

MULTAN, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 29th May, 2023 ) :Pakistan is listed among the top fifteen countries in the world with the heavy burden of tobacco addiction, related diseases, and deaths, says the Cancer Society of Multan Monday as it prepares to observe the World No Tobacco Day on May 31 to propagate the message the world needs food, not tobacco.

"We need food not tobacco" is the theme of the World Health Organization (WHO) for World No Tobacco Day 2023 as part of anti-tobacco advocacy with hopes it should take center stage all over the world on May 31, says Dr. Ahmad Ijaz Masood, the president Cancer Society Multan (CSM) and Oncology department head of Nishtar Medical Institutions in a statement issued to media here.

The CSM with Dr. Abrar Ahmad Javed as its Patron in chief is working for a long against tobacco addiction urging people to shun all forms of tobacco addiction be it cigarette, cigar, pipe, or Huqqa besides non-smoke addiction like Pan, Chalia, Gutka, Naswar. Over half of Pakistan's population, 54 percent, is addicted to this addiction if those using non-smoke items are also counted, says Dr. Ijaz.

The CSM president said that they along with many anti-tobacco campaigners, had been urging the governments and policymakers to devise a system that can replace tobacco cultivation with food crops to meet world food requirements to ensure that no one should die of neither tobacco nor hunger.

"These addictions bring people closer to death and there is a dire need to create awareness among people on its fatal impact." Dr. Ijaz said that tobacco can kill 50 percent of those addicted to it adding that it causes many life-threatening diseases with cancer being on top of the list. "Tobacco smoke contains over 7000 chemicals and most of them cause cancer and smoking was the main factor behind cancer of lungs, mouth, and throat.

" He said that 30-40 percent of cancer cases in Pakistan are caused by smoking adding that tobacco use in any form can cause this potentially fatal disease. It also causes intestinal cancer, food canal cancer, stomach cancer, kidney cancer, prostate cancer, bladder cancer, liver cancer, and pancreatic cancer besides could be a reason behind cardiac arrest, asthma, and psychological complications. Weaker bones, stomach ulcers, wrinkles on the face and body skin, dental problems, and weaker eyesight troubles are also attributed to tobacco addiction. Moreover, tobacco addicts are 30-40 percent more prone to contracting diabetes.

Tobacco not only hurts the smoker itself but also those around, more importantly, children who can suffer from Asthma, sinus infection, bronchitis, and mental weakness due to passive smoking. Medical experts believe a cigarette reduces human addict's life by eight minutes.

In Pakistan, almost 32 percent of youth and 8 percent of women smoke and if non-smoke addiction is counted then the figure surpasses half of the population, 54 percent. On average, around 166,000 people die of tobacco addiction in Pakistan including 31000 those inhaling smoke not by choice but by being around the smokers i.e. passive smokers.

CSR said, not much effort was being put into anti-tobacco drives and suggested an aggressive campaign from governments, and anti-tobacco campaigners.

It urged the youth to rise above their weakness and do not surrender to tobacco addiction. They should consult their loved ones, or any doctor for help with a strong determination to throw the addiction away from their life.