Pakistan - over 273 people die daily of smoking related disease..

Over 273 persons succumb to smoking-related diseases daily in Pakistan, as the government has failed to implement proper rules and guidelines to ban cigarette smoking in the country.

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Highlighting the government's failure in this regard, The Network (for consumer protection) Executive Director Dr Arif Azad said that a huge number of deaths can be prevented by dealing sternly with those agencies, which are not following its instructions to publish pictorial warnings.

"At least 273 people die daily of tobacco related causes in Pakistan. Delay in pictorial warnings means more preventable tobacco deaths," The Daily Times quoted Azad, as saying.

Azad said the tobacco industry was given a time period of six months to comply with the amendments but there has been no progress.

"It seems the tobacco industry has been given too much of a say over the pace and direction of the implementation process of pictorial warning," he added.

Reference: Over 273 people die daily of smoking related diseases in Pak, ANI (Asian News International), 1/29/2010.

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