World No Tobacco Day is being observed with the theme of “Grow Food, Not Tobacco”.
In Nepal, various events aiming to raise awareness and promote action against tobacco use have been scheduled for today in commemoration of the Day.
Minister for Health and Population, Mohan Bahadur Basent, today in his audio message has urged one and all to avoid tobacco use and pursue a healthy life. Tobacco use poses a high risk for fatal diseases like cancer, heart disease, respiratory-related complications, diabetes and so on.
In the message, the Health Minister reminded all of the health implications of tobacco consumption among passive smokers and of the enforcement of the Tobacco Products (Control and Regulatory) Act, 2011.
Stating that the packets and wrappers of the tobacco products shall contain warning messages against the use of tobacco products, Minister Basnet said smoking in public zones has been banned along with the prohibition of the promotional advertisement. "Various programmes are operated to reduce the new smoking rates and discourage its addiction."
"Tobacco kills more than 8 million people each year. More than 7 million of those deaths are the result of direct tobacco use while around 1.2 million are the result of non-smokers being exposed to second-hand smoke," the World Health Organisation states.
According to the Health Ministry, over 27,000 people die of tobacco use each year in Nepal and children and members of family are passive smokers.
According to a recent survey of Nepal Health Research Council, 28.9 percent population in Nepal uses tobacco products and of them 48.3 percent are males and 11.6 percent females.
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