The ban will definitely help in discouraging the smoking trend in youth, but still a lot needs to be done- Civil Society
Islamabad, (Pakistan Point News - 07th Mar, 2018) : The ban will definitely help in discouraging the smoking trend in youth, but still a lot needs to be done- Civil Society The Network for Consumer Protection has applauded the decision taken by the Federal Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister, Mr. Shahid Khaqan Abbass, regarding imposing a nationwide ban on the sale of loose cigarettes. The head of the Network for Consumer Protection, Nadeem Iqbal, said that it has been always the duty of the government to protect its youth from the hazards of tobacco and we are thankful to the Prime Minister and the Ministry of National Health Services and Regulations, for taking this concrete step in the right direction.
We are hopeful that this ban would be enforced in its true spirit and we believe that it's just the beginning. In addition to the tobacco industry, retailers were the main beneficiary of the loose cigarette sale as it earned them more money than selling a full pack. For instance a single loose cigarette of Gold Leaf costs Rs.8/- whereas the whole pack is sold for Rs. 135/-. With the new ban in place, things would apparently look better but there is a dire need to enforce the underage no sale law.
According to the Global Youth Tobacco Survey 2013, among current cigarette smokers who bought cigarettes, 44.9% were not prevented from buying them because of their age. This calls for immediate enforcement of the underage no sale law. The struggle for a tobacco free youth requires us to pay equal attention to the increase in tax on tobacco products, prohibition of underage sale, an increased percentage of Graphic Health Warning on cigarette packaging and a comprehensive ban on any form of advertising, promotion and sponsorship of Tobacco products.
If we are able to legislate these areas, only then it will serve as a complete package where you make cigarettes less affordable by banning sale of loose cigarettes and increasing tax on the price of cigarette packs, prohibiting underage sale, creating constant awareness about health hazards related to tobacco use by increasing the size of graphic health warning, and finally imposing a complete ban on advertisements, promotions and sponsorships of tobacco products, including the point of sale advertisements which are the root cause of demand generation for tobacco in youth and are mainly targeting children.
