Health Minister Dr Javed Akram participated as a special guest in the seminar organised in connection with the World Breastfeeding Week at the University of Child Health Sciences.
University of Child Health Sciences VC Prof Dr Masood Sadiq expressed his views regarding Breastfeeding Week. Caretaker Health Minister Dr Javed Akram said that basic steps are being taken to ensure the health of mother and child in Punjab. A national level awareness campaign should be conducted regarding breastfeeding. We will convince the Cabinet to legislate on breastfeeding.
He said that the Punjab government has constituted implementation and monitoring committees at the provincial as well as divisional levels for enforcement of legislation with regard to tobacco control in the province.
The minister said that the provincial implementation committee was headed by the Secretary Health Punjab while the divisional committees were to be headed by the respective divisional commissioners. These committees will work to make Punjab smoke-free under the ‘Tobacco Smoke-Free Cities Initiative’.
These committees will devise the strategies and action agenda for effective implementation of anti-smoking laws in Punjab. He observed that tobacco was the biggest silent killer in Pakistan. Apart from cancer, smoking causes heart disease, TB, stroke and other diseases.
