A report by the World Health Organization has revealed that 164,000 deaths occur annually in Pakistan due to smoking.
According to the report, smoking causes an annual loss of 6.6 billion dollars to the national economy, while the government receives approximately 265 billion rupees in taxes from the tobacco industry. However, compared to this, the total economic loss reaches up to 1,800 billion rupees.
The report stated that the use of cigarettes, nicotine and other products is rapidly making children and young people addicted to smoking as well. Around the world, 40 million children between the ages of 13 and 15 start smoking, including 20 million cigarette users, 1 million users of naswar and others using vapes. Half of tobacco addicts lose their lives after suffering from diseases such as heart disease, cancer, lung diseases and stroke.
The WHO has recommended increasing taxes on cigarettes further in order to discourage smoking. World No Tobacco Day will be observed in Pakistan on May 31.
