* PMS president says passive smokers should be aware of smoke related diseases

LAHORE- Smokers and passive smokers have an equal chance of contracting fatal diseases caused by smoking, claimed Pakistan Medical Society (PMS) President Dr Masood Sheikh.

He told Daily Times on Sunday that, “There is no difference between smoking and passive smoking. A smoker is at risk. However, a non-smoker who inhales the smoke exhaled by a smoker is at equal risk. This poses a serious issue.”

He said, “The danger lies in the fact that a cigarette is lined with 4,000 chemicals out of which 50 can cause lung and mouth cancers. It is natural for a smoker to be at risk. However, the same chemicals affect non-smokers.” He said that passive smoking was a major cause of asthma and lung cancer.

He said that putting up no smoking signs in enclosed spaces was useless, as smoke diffused through the air and spread all over. “Being in a no smoking area in a restaurant is not enough. The entire restaurant should be a no smoking area,” he added.

He said that the World Health Organisation had come up with a Smoke Free Environment strategy. “This strategy basically entails eradicating smoking completely. It means that an entire city should be smoke free.”

He said that WHO had implemented this strategy by about 10 percent. “90 percent is still left, as authorities concerned are unaware of it. However, till we do not change the people’s attitudes, we cannot actually eradicate smoking,” he added.

He said that people were unaware of the health issues caused by smoking. “Our stop smoking or do not start smoking campaign should engage people. Brochures, banners, awareness walks, talk shows etc should be used to let people know the harmful effects of smoke and second hand smoke.”

He also said that the lifespan of a smoker or even a passive smoker was five to 10 years less than that of a non-smoker or person who did not smoke passively. He said that passive smoke was also very dangerous for children and that Islam had forbidden smoking. Dr Fiazur Rehman, a cardiologist at Ittefaq Hospital, told Daily Times that second hand smoke was as dangerous as first hand smoke.

“In fact, asthma mostly occurs amongst passive smokers. A moderate and occasional exposure to second hand smoke presents a small, but measurable risk of cancer to non-smokers.

The overall risk depends on the effective dose received over time. The risk is more significant if non-smokers spend many hours in an environment where cigarette smoke is prevalent, such as an office where employees or patrons smoke throughout the day.”

By
Shahrukh Ayub
Daily Times