Letters to Editor

Dear Editor,

The Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) 2024 provides positive and encouraging fundings vis-à-vis tobacco use in Pakistan. Overall, Pakistan has successfully reduced tobacco consumption by 15.7% between 2014 and 2024. This can be termed a great achievement. However, smoking cessation still remains a weak area.

Dear Editor,

President Asif Ali Zardari has appropriately pointed out the need for effective legislation regarding tobacco control in his message on the occasion of World No Tobacco Day. The only major legislation on tobacco in Pakistan is the Prohibition of Smoking in Enclosed Places and Protection of Non-Smokers Health Ordinance 2002.

Dear editor,

We are in the month of May when every year the world and Pakistan mark the World No Tobacco Day. However, ironically in Pakistan, the adult smokers remain visible on this day. These are the smokers who understand the harms of smoking and want to quit but do not know how.

Dear editor,

I wish to draw your attention to the continuously increasing trend of smoking in Pakistan. According to cautious estimates, the number of smokers in Pakistan has now exceeded thirty million. Most of these are cigarette smokers. What is even more concerning is that many of these smokers are young people.

Dear editor,

Quitting smoking is one of the most powerful decisions a person can make for their health. The very day one stops, the body begins to clear itself of harmful toxins and the repair process starts immediately. Within days or weeks, remarkable changes can be felt: the senses of taste and smell return, breathing becomes easier, and energy levels rise.