[Intl-tobacco] Pakistan planing to ban (most) tobacco TV ads

[Robert Weissman]

Govt plans to ban tobacco ads on TV - Hi Pakistan
 July 3, 2003

The government is considering to ban cigarette advertisements on
television from morning till midnight as a first step towards
implementing the anti-smoking ordinance , claims Dr Zafar Mirza,
executive coordinator of The Network for Consumer Protection.

Dr Mirza told reporters here on Tuesday that the government received
annual revenue of Rs40 billion from the tobacco industry- a revenue much
less than the overall expenditure on the cure of the smoking-related
diseases. "It receives an annual revenue of Rs216,000 against each death
caused due to smoking- related disease," he said while quoting a WHO
study.

Expressing reservations about the recently implemented anti- smoking
ordinance, he said the government should not consider the revenue since
this money was "stained with the blood of the Pakistani people". At
least 99,000 people die each year in the country owing to
smoking-related diseases.

The government has put a ban on smoking at public places starting from
June 30. The prohibition was put in place after Health Minister Mohammad
Nasir Khan signed four notifications relating to the implementation of
Prohibition of Smoking and Protection of Non-smokers Health Ordinance
2002, during a seminar on Monday. Dr Zafar Mirza was of the view that
the anti-smoking ordinance was merely an eyewash in the absence of a
comprehensive strategy.

There was nothing remarkable in the ordinance to congratulate the
government about, he said adding that the enforcement of ordinance was
decided only a day earlier and yet it failed to fully enforce ban on
tobacco advertisements and place restrictions on smoking at the public
places.

He also expressed dissatisfaction over the prohibition on the sale of
cigarettes within 50 meters of an educational institution and criticized
the government for not placing comprehensive ban on the advertisements
of cigarettes on all type of media. A public awareness campaign has been
launched to create awareness on different sections of the ordinance.