Tag: smoking

  • Smoking: ‘impermissible, undesirable, unlawful’, Islamic scholars issue fatwa

    Smoking: ‘impermissible, undesirable, unlawful’, Islamic scholars issue fatwa

    The Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) assembled a group of Islamic experts on Thursday who issued a fatwa (ruling) declaring smoking impermissible, undesirable and unlawful due to its negative consequences of health, reports Dawn.

    The Islamic experts were gathered at a conference that was organised by Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (Sparc) in collaboration with (CII).

    It was noted that increasing lethal effects of smoking are increasing in the society.

    Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Mohammad Khan said that in a youthful country like Pakistan, the impact of smoking will be magnified as the population ages and develops a variety of health problems linked to tobacco use, such as chronic lung and heart disease, as well as practically all cancers.

    He further said that in the absence of changes in tobacco taxation for years, policy planning to check tobacco consumption and meet international targets needs urgent revision.

    Chairman of CII Qibla Ayaz while addressing the audience talked about a saying of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and added that smoking is not only a danger to oneself but to others as well, as cigarettes have proved to be a source of several diseases, both for smokers and those exposed to second-hand smoke.

    He stated that, in light of the dangers of cigarettes, the CII and other major Islamic scholars present at the meeting agree that smoking falls into the category of behaviours that must be avoided under Islamic law.

  • VIDEO: Car catches fire after driver uses hand sanitizer while smoking

    A car burst into flames in Maryland after a driver used hand sanitizer while smoking a cigarette.

    According to officials, the fire was caused by the “driver using hand sanitizer and smoking a cigarette,” which he cites as a “bad combo in an unventilated area like a car.” 

    Read more – Woman ‘destroys’ $26m lottery ticket in laundry

    The car is badly damaged and cannot be recovered, Fire control officials took the driver to a nearby hospital for treatment of minor burns and injuries. 

  • FBR suggests Rs10 health tax on pack of cigarettes

    The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has proposed a Rs10 health levy on each packet of cigarettes. The proposal has the potential to encourage current smokers to quit, FBR believes.

    Before devising policy formulation, FBR has sent its proposal to the Law Ministry seeking legal advice if the suggestion falls into the jurisdiction of the federal government or not in the aftermath of the 18th Amendment.

    FBR officials say they are awaiting the response of the ministry and after receiving the advice, they would move forward accordingly.

    Read more – Over 1,200 children start smoking every day in Pakistan

    Last year, an approval was granted for the same tax by the cabinet. The anti-tobacco lobby has been advocating imposition of the levy as the price increase would discourage consumption, especially among children and youth.

    Tobacco companies, on the other hand, say this could cause a revenue loss worth Rs20 to Rs24 billion to the national exchequer per year.

  • Over 1,200 children start smoking every day in Pakistan

    Over 1,200 children start smoking every day in Pakistan

    Around 1,200 children start smoking every day in Pakistan, Parliamentary Secretary for the Ministry of National Health Services, Dr Nausheen Hamid, said on Thursday.

    “The data we have has shown that children between ages of 6 and 12 are also among those children who start smoking every day,” Hamid said adding that more than 160,000 people died every year in Pakistan because of tobacco use.

    “The tobacco industry tries to attract young generations to become users their customers,” she said.

    As per reports, Pakistan has taken several steps to control tobacco use, including banning smoking in all places of public work or use, and on all public transport.

    Laws in Pakistan also forbid the sale of smoked tobacco products within 50 meters of any school, university, or educational institution, as well as the sale of single cigarettes and small packets of cigarettes. Youth under the age of 18 are not allowed to but the tobacco products.

    Many forms of tobacco advertising and promotion including advertising on TV, radio and print media are also banned. 

    According to data available on the Pakistani health ministry’s tobacco control cell, there are 23.9 million tobacco users in the country, of whom 15.6 million are smokers.

    “5,000 Pakistanis are admitted to the hospitals every day due to tobacco,” the cell said, “and 39 percent of households are exposed daily to secondhand tobacco smoke.”

  • Can passive smoking give you coronavirus?

    With lockdowns being lifted and offices besides all public spaces except wedding halls and educational institutions being re-opened, the threat of a sudden spike in coronavirus infections, despite the continuous drop, has once again risen its ugly head.

    While many people are taking necessary precautions, some are not, owing to which all of us have found ourselves assessing our surroundings and avoiding the virus as much as possible.

    Many amid the prevailing situation, among other things are wondering if one can get COVID-19 from secondhand smoke?

    Here’s what we know…

    Secondhand smoke isn’t believed to directly spread the virus, experts say, but infected smokers may blow droplets carrying the virus when they exhale.

    Being able to smell the smoke might be a red flag that you’re standing too close to the smoker. The respiratory droplets people spray when they talk, cough or sneeze are believed to be the main way the virus spreads. And people also exhale those droplets when smoking, as well as when they’re vaping.

    “Not only are they potentially spreading the virus by not wearing a mask, they are blowing those droplets to the people around them to potentially get infected,” says Dr Albert Rizzo, chief medical officer for the American Lung Association.

    You should steer clear of secondhand smoke regardless. Breathing in secondhand smoke from cigarettes can cause various health problems, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

    By the time this report was filed, the number of coronavirus infections in Pakistan stood at 294,668 with 279,630 recoveries and 6,275 deaths. Sindh continued to have the lead with 128,877 cases with Punjab trailing at 96,540 infections, followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Islamabad with 35,923 and 15,562 cases, respectively.

    The number of infections in Balochistan stood at 12,721 while Gilgit-Baltistan had 2,773 cases and Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJ&K) had 2,272.

  • Smokers 14 times more likely to contract coronavirus

    Smokers are 14 times more vulnerable to contraction of coronavirus as compared with those who do not smoke, Al-Jazeera reported. 

    It quoted the president of Turkish Green Crescent, Professor Mucahit Ozturk, as urging smokers to quit for protecting themselves from the contagion. 

    “Using tobacco and tobacco products increases the risk of catching the coronavirus, therefore, avoiding all addictive substances plays an important role in protecting ourselves against the virus,” Ozturk said.

    Prof Ozturk emphasised that smoking weakened the immune system and had a dire impact on coronavirus treatment as well.  

    “A weak immune system poses a threat to your health since it delays the treatment process and makes treatment difficult during the epidemic, even if you occasionally use addictive substances,” he said.

    “Smoking can cause damage to the lungs and block the cough reflex so viruses and bacteria could stick to the airways and lungs, which could lead to serious infections.”

    Earlier, the World Health Organization (WHO) also said smokers are likely to be more vulnerable to the virus as fingers are in contact with the lips, which increases the possibility of hand-to-mouth transmission. 

    European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention cited a research by Chinese doctors as per which “acute smokers are at a higher risk of dying than the elderly”.  

    Smokers should quit because “the human body is programmed to recover from the moment you stop smoking,” Ozturk said.

  • PIA fines passenger over smoking in flight

    PIA fines passenger over smoking in flight

    A British-Pakistani traveler on a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight was briefly detained and then charged Rs. 10,000 fine for smoking during a flight.

    As per reports, a British-origin Pakistani Raza Ahsan was traveling from Birmingham to Islamabad. Ahsan went to the airplane’s bathroom to smoke a cigarette. Other passengers complained of the smoke coming out of the lavatory.

     The crew made him came out of the toilet and later confiscated his passport. Upon landing at the Islamabad International Airport, he was briefly detained by the Airport Security Force (ASF). The passenger received his passport back after he paid a fine of Rs. 10,000 for risking the plane safety.

    As per PIA officials, this is the first penalty for inflight
    smoking in the history of the airline. The official said that the act was
    against international aviation laws and could lead to any disastrous situation.