Smoking kills 164,000 people in Pakistan every year: WHO

Lubna Shahzadi:

Islamabad: A new World Health Organization (WHO) report has revealed that tobacco use claims 164,000 lives annually in Pakistan while inflicting an estimated economic burden of $6.6 billion on the country each year. The report highlights the devastating health and financial consequences of smoking across Pakistan.

The report also warns that children and young people in Pakistan are increasingly becoming addicted to smoking.

Pakistan economy losing billions

WHO said smoking causes an annual loss of $6.6 billion to Pakistan’s economy. In local currency terms, the report said tobacco use costs the Pakistani economy around Rs1,800 billion every year.

This financial loss is seven times higher than the tax collected from the tobacco industry.

According to WHO, the government collects Rs265 billion in taxes from the tobacco industry annually. However, the economic burden caused by smoking is far greater than the revenue generated from tobacco taxation.

The report recommended further increasing taxes on cigarettes to discourage smoking and reduce tobacco consumption.

Tobacco linked to major fatal diseases

The report said half of all people addicted to tobacco die from serious diseases linked to smoking. These include heart disease, cancer, lung disease and stroke.

Health experts warn that tobacco use remains one of the leading preventable causes of death.

Children and youth at growing risk

WHO expressed concern that Pakistani children and youth are increasingly being exposed to tobacco products. Globally, 40 million children between the ages of 13 and 15 start using tobacco products.

According to the report, 20 million of them smoke cigarettes, one million use snuff or similar tobacco products, while the rest use vaping products.

Millions die worldwide from tobacco

The WHO said seven million people die every year worldwide due to smoking. In addition, 1.6 million people die from the deadly effects of tobacco smoke despite not smoking themselves.

The report underlines the risks of second-hand smoke and its impact on non-smokers.

World No Tobacco Day will be observed in Pakistan on May 31. The day aims to raise awareness about the harms of smoking, second-hand smoke and tobacco addiction, while encouraging governments to take stronger action against tobacco use.