World No Tobacco Day: Every third form of cancer caused by tobacco use

[Lahore_Real_Estate]

* Walk arranged to create awareness of smoking risks

LAHORE: Every third form of cancer in the country is caused due to the use of tobacco, Surgical Oncology Society of Pakistan President Prof Arshad Cheema said on Monday. He was leading several groups of medical students and doctors from across Punjab, who participated in a walk organised to create awareness among the people on the World No Tobacco Day. The rally started from the King Edward Medical University (KEMU), reached the General Post Office (GPO) Chowk and returned to the surgical tower of the Mayo Hospital. They were holding banners and placards to highlight the effects of smoking on health. Later in a seminar at KEMU, participants resolved to implement in letter and spirit the smoking ban in all medical colleges and hospitals across Punjab. Expressing his views, Cheema said the most cost-effective way of treating cancer was preventing it. He said the use of tobacco was the single largest preventable cause of death among cancer patients. According to estimates of the World Health Organisation, cancer has surpassed cardiac diseases as the most common killer in the country. He said 40 percent of all cancer deaths can be prevented. Addressing the gathering, Health Secretary Fawad Hassan Fawad said the world had woken up to the menace of smoking, admitting that the government had not been able to introduce relevant laws. “It is a pity that we are pleading for such a basic law as declaring hospitals smoking free zones in 2010... all should show the moral courage to stop smoking,” he said, adding that the tobacco industry was very “powerful” and “influenced” legislation when the budget was ever in the making. staff report