Like other parts of the world, Pakistan is also marking the "World No Tobacco Day" in which awareness will be created among the masses about the dangers and adverse effects of tobacco on our health.
In Pakistan, 19% of the people, over the age of 15 years, use tobacco in any form, and tobacco kills 118,000 people in the country every year. It also costs the country Rs615bn per annum on smoking-related illnesses.
Pakistan has placed a complete ban on advertisements of tobacco and tobacco-related products.
The sale of loose cigarettes is prohibited, as well as the display of banners and placards of cigarette brands at the point of sale. Pakistan has also outlawed selling cigarettes near educational institutions.
Pakistan made a commitment in 2005, when it signed the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), to reduce tobacco consumption and ensure the right of people to the highest standards of health.
Globally, the tobacco epidemic is one of the biggest public health threats the world has ever faced, killing more than eight million people a year around the world.
More than seven million of those deaths are the result of direct tobacco use while around 1.2 million are the result of non-smokers being exposed to second-hand smoke.
All forms of tobacco are harmful, and there is no safe level of exposure to tobacco.
Cigarette smoking is the most common form of tobacco use worldwide.
Other tobacco products include waterpipe tobacco, various smokeless tobacco products, cigars, cigarillos, roll-your-own tobacco, pipe tobacco, bidis, and kreteks.
According to WHO, waterpipe tobacco use is damaging to health in similar ways to cigarette tobacco use.
However, the health dangers of waterpipe tobacco use are often little understood by users.
Smokeless tobacco contains many cancer-causing toxins and its use increases the risk of cancers of the head, neck, throat, oesophagus, and oral cavity (including cancer of the mouth, tongue, lip and gums) as well as various dental diseases.
Over 80% of the 1.3 billion tobacco users worldwide live in low- and middle-income countries, where the burden of tobacco-related illness and death is the heaviest.
Studies show that few people understand the specific health risks of tobacco use. However, when smokers become aware of the dangers of tobacco, most want to quit.
Without cessation support only 4% of attempts to quit tobacco will succeed while professional support and proven cessation medications can more than double a tobacco user's chance of successfully quitting the habit.
The illicit trade in tobacco products poses major health, economic, and security concerns around the world.
It is estimated that one in every 10 cigarettes and tobacco products consumed globally is illicit.