Start an anti-tobacco
campaign in Pakistan

In one of its surveys, the Pakistan Medical Research Council notes that 54 per
cent of men and 20 per cent of women use some forms of tobacco on a regular basis in Pakistan. The Pakistan Pediatrics Association in 1997 said that 1,000 to 1,2000 school going children between the ages of 6 to 16 years take up smoking everyday.

If that's not bad enough, you'd be shocked to know that Pakistan's tobacco revenue constitutes 0.7 per cent of the GNP, exactly the same percentage allocated for health.

Pakistani citizens clearly must take a firm stand against the menace of tobacco, which is known to cause lung cancer, low birth weight in babies whose mothers smoke, chronic bronchitis and other health problems.

You can help by launching an anti-tobacco campaign in your neighborhood in Pakistan with the help of local residents. Here's how you can do it:

1. Translate health information into Urdu

Information is the key to convincing people to quit smoking and alerting them to the life-threatening dangers of tobacco. There is plenty of excellent information available on the internet, in medical facilities and through anti-tobacco organizations in America.

Get copies of pamphlets, articles and other information on this topic. A lot of the information should be copyright free, especially if it is produced by the US government. If it's produced by another source, contact the publisher or author, explain that you want to translate this information into the local language in Pakistan so that others can benefit from it. Once you get their permission to translate the material, produce and print the pamphlets and distribute it in Pakistan.

Distribute this material through relatives and friends, but don't stop there. You need to make sure they don't politely take a copy and leave it lying around the house. That's why you need to take the next step.

2. Organize a seminar

Arrange a short seminar in your or your relatives' neighborhood in Pakistan alerting everyone to the dangers of smoking. There, you can give out your pamphlets and go over them with everyone present so they don't just take the material and forget about it.

Two points which you should emphasize when discussing this topic are:

a. smoking is an Islamically questionable practice. In fact, a growing number of Muslim scholars around the world consider it completely forbidden because it leads to lung cancer and eventually death. Muslims are not allowed to engage in practices which are harmful to the body, let alone those which are fatal.

b. children imitate their parents. If a child regularly sees his or her parent smoking, Abbu or Ummy are not only setting a bad example, but the child can and probably will take up smoking as well.

The religious and family arguments are very strong points which may not be emphasized as much in the translated information you hand out. That's why they need to be emphasized in the seminar.

3. Dissuade family members from smoking

Start gently advising family members about the dangers of smoking, their ill effects and the religious and family arguments you used to present your case in the seminar.

Don't be too pushy though. You could end up angering the smoker and he or she will not be willing to keep an open mind about the issue.

4. Make signs in Urdu or the local language pointing out the dangers of smoking

Get together with supportive family members and friends and paint large signs with slogans in the local language that state facts about tobacco use. "Smoking kills"; "Children can get sick with second hand smoke"; "You can die because of smoking" are strong statements but they grab attention and state facts that are not normally discussed openly, especially given the power of the tobacco lobby in Pakistan.

Hang these signs outside the homes of neighbors who agree to post them on their property.

5. Dissuade shopkeepers from selling cigarettes

Since tobacco is big business, it also means plenty of profit for shops across Pakistan. Try to convince the shopkeepers in your neighborhood from selling these killing machines (cigarettes). Again use the religious and family arguments to prove that tobacco is a threat not just to customers, but to themselves and their families as well. Give them the written information you got translated about the harmful effects of tobacco.

6. Send letters of protest to Pakistani media outlets

The promotion of smoking and tobacco products is not illegal in Pakistan and cigarette manufacturers shell out big money for space on government- run electronic media, newspapers and billboards.

According to one report, Pakistan Television (PTV) made around 28 million rupees through tobacco advertisements during the recent World Cricket Cup.

Generally speaking, people in Pakistan, especially the young, receive a
clear and constant message that smoking is glamorous, exciting,mature, and desirable. This is an unacceptable lie that has dangerous consequences.

That's why protesting media support for tobacco is important. Get the contact information for all of the major media in your city and in Pakistan. Get your team of anti-tobacco activists together and start writing letters, in both Urdu or the local language and English to protest. Threaten and follow up with an all out boycott of the erring media.

7. Delegate people to be in charge of the campaign when you return to America

It's crucial that the anti-tobacco campaign you've started doesn't end with your return to America. Before you leave Pakistan, appoint one person to be the head of the campaign and advise all activists to work with him or her.

8. Set up a website

Once you're back in America, there's still work to do. Set up a website detailing your anti-tobacco campaign in Pakistan. It should include the steps you took to start the initiative, statistics about tobacco, testimonials from people who have quit smoking and why they did, tips on how to stop smoking, links to anti-tobacco sites, etc.

In addition, you should discuss the role of the media in promoting smoking in Pakistan, as well as post information on the site about how American and European companies target third world countries like Pakistan to sell their cigarettes to, now that tobacco is no longer acceptable socially or from the perspective of health, in the West.

Include a discussion forum so that visitors can exchange ideas and stories about fighting smoking. Also, post regular updates from the team in Pakistan about the latest moves taken to stop tobacco.

9. Get the support of local Pakistani-Americans

Convince your local Pakistani community to encourage relatives abroad to stop smoking by sending them the anti-tobacco material you got translated and asking them to check out your website.

Also, write letters of protest and organize initiatives like demonstrations against American tobacco companies that are heavily marketing and selling cigarettes in Pakistan. Threaten and follow up with a boycott of any publication or media in the US or Pakistan that advertises their brand of cigarettes.

10. Support other anti-tobacco initiatives in Pakistan

If you find out about other groups fighting tobacco in Pakistan, support them morally and financially. Encourage your group in Pakistan to work with others involved in the same battle. The more people there are fighting the tobacco menace in Pakistan, the louder the voices of protest and change. Once the voices against the tobacco industry gain strength, it's more likely that something will be done to end or at least reduce tobacco promotion and consumption in Pakistan.

Date/Time Last Modified: 6/17/2002 3:47:35 PM

Readers' Comment

Dr Pankaj Chaturvedi: 7/10/2005 10:03:34 AM
Hi, I fully agree with your opinion and proposals. We in India are facing a similar kind of problem. I have made an exclusive anti-tobacco cartoon website to educate children and teenagers.You can access my cartoons on smokitoons.globalink.org with best wishes, pankaj

ibad: 9/8/2005 6:28:24 AM
interesting to come across this article. lets just say im doing my part. as a design student i am looking to presebt my pre-thesis on a 'tobacco-hazard awareness' program. your feedback and guidance would be invaluable. i have been unable to locate any & all visuals of any such campaigns that might ever have existed pakistan. it would be wonderful if i could have your assistance on this. get back to me if you ever come across this.

Khawaja Adeel: 4/28/2006 1:18:34 AM
Thsi is realy a wonderful idea. I live in Karachi and ready to serve the nation for said purpose. I think we have to mention some easy ways to quit smoking too. I would like to know the website address of Dr. Pankaj Chaturvedi as its not mention in his comments. Regards

Fezzah Jaffery: 1/12/2007 11:08:07 PM
i just read the article and i am shocked beyond beleife i really think we should take an action.the media has completly stopped advertising for tobacco i think that a huge begining i think measures should be taken when shopkeepers sell the stuff...you know maybe display of id cards should be an essential like above 18 only be alloyed to buy tobacco

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