Smoking is injurious to
health...' it is quite famous proverb and old as well but didn’t get as much
attention with respect to its practical implementation. It is not only
inconsiderate to smoke in public places but it is also illegal. It is not only
detrimental to one’s health but also to people one’s around. People do have the
right to smoke but they are not allowed to make that poison infecting the rest
of other people. Smokers are the ones bringing something ugly into the air so
they should get away from the other people.
Smoking at the government offices and public places in Pakistan’s Lahore city
has been banned few years ago. Meanwhile, a mass awareness drive across the city
has been launched regarding tobacco free environment. The District Committee for
Tobacco Control (DCTC) has prepared a strategy to ensure smoking free health
centers, government offices and public places across the city through
implementation of anti-smoking laws. The laws outline punishments for anyone
advertising or selling cigarettes near educational institutes.
Smoking trends are seemed to be declining with the passage of time as people are
more aware now about the serious effects caused by cigarette smoke. Tobacco not
only causes harm to the individual who smokes but it also affects the health of
the persons who live, work or travel with the smoker. Obviously, if people smoke
in public places, non-smokers have no choice but to become secondhand smokers.
There was a time when smokers were found at every public place like in trains,
buses and even at airports but smoking epidemic is decreasing steadily now in
Pakistan because of public education, awareness and legislative control. But
today no one is allowed to smoke or use tobacco in public places under the law.
The law declares auditorium buildings, health institutions, amusement centers,
restaurants, public offices, court buildings, cinema halls, conference and
seminar halls, eating houses, hotel lounges, libraries, bus-stations, sports
stadiums, educational institutions and other places as public places.
Increasing literacy rate and ban on smoking by the Pakistani government are the
major reasons for awareness of Pakistani people. Anti-smoking campaigns are
being practiced more in Pakistan as compared to any other country. Print,
electronic and especially social media are in full swing to bring positive
aspects of health issues of Pakistani people and playing an active part for
anti-smoking campaigns. For example, the horrible image of a severely affected
mouth of a patient suffering from mouth cancer apparently due to excessive
smoking has been designed on cigarette pack to make people embarrassed. Though
smoking is not the actual reason behind it but the Smokeless Tobacco (ST)
available in the Pakistani market, the most common ones being ‘naswar’, ‘gutka’,
‘mainpuri’ and crushed tobacco taken with paan. In fact it is the picture-based
health warning significant in countries like Pakistan with poor literacy rate
and it’s just to make people think about the bad and severe effects of smoking a
cigarette.
The alternatives of cigarette smoking have been discovered so far. But smoking
is smoking. It is nothing more than a slow form of suicide. So it should not be
just about protecting some portion of a population from inhaling second-hand
smoke but to stop all the population from smoking altogether. It’s not easy but
not impossible as well. The only way to completely eradicate this bad practice
is to join hands with other Pakistanis and ensure spreading awareness and
implementing anti-smoking laws.