SWAT: Under the auspices of Awami Welfare Society, a one-day training on the law and harms of smoking was organized with the support of Coalition For Tobacco Pakistan.
A large number of men and women also participated in this training session from different districts.
The experts revealed that more than one and a half lakh people die every year due to smoking and 200 crores of rupees are lost every year due to smoking. The training was started by Dr. Yasmin Gill, Executive Director of Awami Welfare Society with opening remarks while Chairman Syed Muhyiddin highlighted the aims and objectives of the program.
District Officer Social Welfare, Swat Salim Zada and other experts told the participants that 163,600 people die every year from smoking and in the same ratio, 448 people die every day, while 18 people die every hour in Pakistan.
Experts said that on a daily basis, 1,200 children between the ages of 6 and 15 become addicted to tobacco and 90 billion cigarettes are sold in our country.
“According to the WHO report, 6200 people die of AIDS in a year, while 5000 people die of malaria, in addition, the WHO report revealed that 690 people fall victim to TB every year,” Experts said.
They demanded the government to enact legislation while stressing on conducting an awareness campaign about the harmful effects of smoking in Pakistan.
