Anti-tobacco laws: massive violation being committed in 36 cities: Survey

A massive violation of "Prohibition of Smoking and Protection of Non-smokers Health Ordinance 2002" was reported in 36 major cities of the country, showing an apathetic response of local administrations.
According to a survey report carried out in 36 cities to monitor implementation of the ordinance, non-compliance was found to be the highest in banks, followed by offices, while most violations were observed in public service vehicles and restaurants.
It was observed that in 72.1 percent of vehicles, passengers including driver and conductor were found smoking while drivers and conductors of approximately 61 percent of vehicles did not know that smoking in public service vehicles is prohibited.
The survey conducted by Coalition for Tobacco Control, Pakistan claimed that only 30.7 percent of the restaurants had "no smoking" sign displayed while in 50 percent, people were seen smoking. The staff of less than one eighth of total restaurants was aware of the ban on smoking in restaurants.
Similarly, 35.7 percent offices surveyed had 'no smoking sign' while in 30.5 percent, people were seen smoking in these zones. The staff of 74.4 percent of offices was aware of the ban on smoking in public places. The report claimed that 79.8 banks had 'no smoking' sign while in 14.9 percent, people were seen smoking in these zones. The staff of 88.8 percent of the banks was aware of the ban on smoking in public places.
Regarding billboards, eight out of 36 commercial areas displayed billboards with tobacco advertisement. Three were near shopping areas and two were on main roads. Four of these billboards were 10 feet or more in width, while one was less than 10 ft in width.
About cigarettes sale, only 19 out of 144 outlets, packs without warning were being sold. Sales to minors were taking place at 77 percent of the outlets while merchandise for children being sold at 88 percent shops. The survey claimed that 66 percent of educational institutions had cigarette sales outlet in close vicinity. Nine out of 139 educational institutions had cigarettes available in their canteen for sale. There was cigarette advertising near approximately 17 percent of educational institutions.
During the survey, a total of 140 restaurants, 86 offices, 75 banks, 74 cigarette sales outlets, 148 public service vehicles, 36 commercial areas and 75 educational institutions were observed. The data consists of observations made at different public places including restaurants, offices, banks, public transport vehicles, commercial areas, cigarette selling outlets and educational institutions.
The survey report suggested federal and provincial health ministries to play their role by facilitating and monitoring future interventions besides planning sensitisation and awareness programmes on tobacco control. It also suggested further evaluations with anecdotal data so that new strategies for a smoke-free environment may be based on successful examples seen during the surveys.
The survey was conducted to provide the ministry of health with evidence-based report regarding the current status of implementation of tobacco control statutes in Pakistan, Khurram Hashmi, National Co-ordinator CTC said. He added the survey was also carried out to effectively quarterly monitor implementation of tobacco control statutes in Pakistan in at least 20 representative districts.
Elaborating, he said the survey was conducted to check implementation of various sections of the ordinance included section 5: prohibition of smoking and other tobacco use, section 6: prohibition of smoking in public service vehicles, section 7: prohibition on advertisement of cigarette etc, section 8: prohibition of sale of cigarettes etc to minors and section 9: prohibition of storage, sale and distribution of cigarettes, etc in the immediate vicinity of educational institutions.
He said this survey will be conducted on an ongoing basis every three months to observe the changes in the situation of the implementation of tobacco control statutes in Pakistan. Hashmi informed that Convention on Tobacco Control-PAK has been advocating stronger measures for tobacco control by the translation and adaptation of World Health Organisation (WHO)'s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) provisions into national tobacco control laws.
He said WHO's FCTC was developed in response to the globalisation of the tobacco epidemic and is an evidence-based treaty that reaffirms the right of all people to the highest standard of health. He added that the convention represents a milestone for promotion of public health and provides new legal dimensions for international health co-operation.