QUIT SMOKING or it will QUIT YOU!

In every era, human being has been indulged in various activities. Some of them proved to be quite effective which boosted to creativity and sometimes he got unfortunate to stuck in destructive ways. Smoking is one of these actions which had turned the healthy and social human being into an addictive individual.

The global data analysis suggested that the approximate number of smokers around the world are estimated to be 1.1 billion people (as per 2019). This is quite amaze to quote that one third of the total number of smokers in the world belong to China.

The global survey was done in 204 countries which stated the findings that more than 80 percent of the fresh smokers join the smoking club before the age of 25 and then they use to get addicted to it for almost their whole life.

This is an eye-opening research that if an individual is keeping him away from smoking till his late twenties, then there are vey little chances for him to opt smoking. Data shows that in 2019 there were roughly 155 million smokers aged between 15 and 24, and that 65.5 per cent of all tobacco users began their habit before they were 20 years-old.

The Global Burdens of Disease collaboration carried out the research in 2019 and they stated that nearly 7.7 million people were reported dead and the cause was nothing but the smoking- related causes.

When the attention is shifted from Global to Asian perspective, a study was done by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) which share its findings that Cigarette prices are the cheapest in Pakistan when compared with other countries in the South Asian region.

The concerned officials had taken some initiatives to reduce the rapidly increasing number of smokers by increasing taxes on tobacco products, their manufacturers and by stopping the prohibited trade locally or internationally. Government has also introduced various pictorial warnings on cigarette packs, smoking bans, ‘No Smoking’ signs in public places and vehicles, bans on cigarettes sale to minors, active advertisements campaigns and distribution of free samples as well.

With around 24 million active adult tobacco users, Pakistan ranks among the largest tobacco consuming countries in the world. The pervasiveness rates among men and women are 32% and 6% respectively.

The study said that the weakest action area in the country’s combat against tobacco is its taxation policy despite its being an effective tool to reduce tobacco consumption.