3 Practices to Prevent 1,200,000 Deaths in Pakistan: Insights from a Recent Report

Pakistan has actively adopted multiple measures suggested by the WHO in its fight against smoking. These measures include placing visible health warnings on products, and imposing limitations on advertisements across national television, radio, and print media. Together with this a further impressive 90% of public areas have been declared smoke-free.

However, there is still a consistent link between tobacco use and heart disease and stroke, two major causes of death in Pakistan. Even with an overall tobacco smoking rate of 13.1%, 12.4% of the population still utilises Naswar, and so, the extensive use of toxic smokeless tobacco(SLT) products remains prevalent.

While Pakistan must sustain its ongoing tobacco control initiatives, a recent report underscores the importance of incorporating three crucial practices. These measures aim to prevent 1.2 million premature deaths in Pakistan alone and involve implementing tobacco harm reduction (THR) policies, enhancing the accessibility of THR products, and advancing access to diagnostics and treatment for tobacco-related diseases.