KARACHI: Professor Doctor Javed A. Khan, a senior pulmonologist said on Friday that more than100,000 people died of smoking every year in Pakistan.
He said that the government received 70 billion rupees every year as sales tax on cigarettes. He said that the government should set its priorities now. Regretting inability of the authorities to resist the pressure of tobacco industry he said easy availability of smuggled cigarettes has severely jeopardized the life quality of both active smokers and passive smokers.
Passive smokers he mentioned are those who do not smoke but are exposed to smoke due to their presence in an environment be it a room or any other space where others may be smoking.
He said, “This should be therefore of no surprise that lungs and prostate cancers besides asthma chest and lung infections coronary diseases are fast emerging as the commonest cause of morbidity and mortality in our country.”
