According to official estimates around 160,000 persons died every year in Pakistan due to smoking while 600,000 passive smokers die across the world, it was informed during a meeting held here at Deputy Commissioner Secretariat in connection with 11th Anti Tobacco Day.
The meeting was chaired by DC Peshawar Shafiullah Khan and attended by health, transport, social welfare and other line departments besides the stakeholders including traders, civil society and NGOs.
It was further informed that 600 million trees and 8.5 million hectare of land were being used for smoking purposes, while 84 million ton carbon-dioxide were released into the environment due to smoking. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa health department in cooperation with the district governments has chalked out a comprehensive program in Abbottabad, Hari Pur and Peshawar to control smoking.
Speaking on the occasion, the DC said that the district administration has made all the parks smoking free in the provincial capital, adding that the relevant staff have been directed to ensure that cigarettes are not being sold by the Tuck shops within the parks.
