1,200 children start smoking in Pakistan every day, reports the World Health Organization. Photo: File
Islamabad: According to a research report, about 337,500 people die every year in Pakistan and about 8 million people in the world due to smoking.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has said that around 1,200 children start smoking in Pakistan every day, and the burden of smoking-related diseases on health facilities in Pakistan is 620 billion rupees.
Increasing taxes on tobacco products can prevent the initiation of smoking among youth, increasing the price of cigarettes will lead to a decrease in smoking, the recent increase in taxes on cigarettes will reverse this trend.
In a recent ongoing research report, researchers say that smoking is one of the biggest health problems in the world.
Also read: Lung cancer can be prevented by quitting smoking early
The government increased the Federal Excise Duty (FED) on cigarettes in February to discourage consumption and increase revenue, but multinational tobacco companies are lobbying to withdraw it.
According to the report, anti-tobacco activists have urged the government to increase taxes on tobacco products to discourage their use, especially among young people, as research shows that smoking has been around for decades. Health has been a major problem.
Throughout the 20th century, it is estimated that around 100 million people died prematurely due to smoking, most of them in rich countries and increasing in low- to middle-income countries like Pakistan.