LAHORE, (APP – UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News – 16th Aug, 2026) Smoking harms nearly every organ in the body and introduces over 5,000 toxic chemicals,
including tar, nicotine, and carbon monoxide which cause severe health problems like cancer,
heart disease, stroke, and chronic lung disease, significantly reducing life expectancy.
Experts through a study finding have revealed that more than two million deaths worldwide
each year were caused by smoking-related cardiovascular diseases. They are of the view
that smoking damages DNA and causes multiple types of cancer, with about 90 percent of
lung cancer cases tied to smoking.
According to a recent study, in Pakistan, 160,000 people die from tobacco-related diseases
annually, which was more than 450 deaths a day.
Pulmonologists in Lahore confirm that tobacco and cigarette smoking are the leading root
causes of severe, long-term lung diseases. Smoking damages airway tissues, lowers body
immunity, and triggers progressive respiratory disorders and failures of various functions.
Noted Pulmonologist Dr. Zeeshan Ali told APP that smoking creates Chronic Obstructive
Pulmonary Disease (COPD) that destroys air sacs and inflames airways, making it hard
to breathe.
To a query Dr. Zeeshan said that smoking also damages cellular DNA and introduces deadly
carcinogens into pulmonary tissues. He said smoking tobacco puts life at risk for cancer,
stroke, heart attack, lung disease and other health issues, adding that nicotine replacements
and lifestyle changes may help you quit.
Furthermore, it gives birth to chronic Bronchitis that causes constant mucus production
and painful disorders, persistent coughing.
He warned that chain smoking makes standard asthma attacks harder to control with normal
inhaler treatments.
Dr Imran-ul-Hassan (consultant Pulmonologist at PKLI& RC) told APP that there was no safe
level of smoking. Every cigarette exposes the body to over 70 cancer-causing chemicals and
toxic tar that progressively destroy lung tissue, trigger chronic inflammation, and severely
impair the immune system’s ability to fight off deadly respiratory infections.
He warned that smoking was a leading cause of preventable illness and death which destroys
lung tissue, triggers chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), worsens asthma, and
drastically increases the risk of lung cancer and cardiovascular disease.
In this study, public awareness about the health effects of smoking, researchers have made
important revelations.
According to the study, which was conducted on more than 240,000 smokers in 46 countries
of the world, most smokers were aware that smoking could cause lung cancer. However,
awareness about serious risks such as heart disease, heart attack and stroke is much less.
The study also revealed that many people were not fully aware of the fact that cigarette smoke
could also put others at risk of heart disease, heart attack and stroke.
The study published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) Open, reveals that despite graphic
warnings, tobacco control policies and years of public awareness campaigns, there remains
a gap in knowledge about the major harms of smoking.
The study emphasized that more effective measures were needed to increase public awareness
about the effects of smoking on the heart and blood vessels.
On the other hand, the Punjab government enforces anti-tobacco regulations under the Prohibition
of Smoking and Protection of Non-Smokers Health Ordinance, 2002. This law bans smoking and the
sale of tobacco products in designated public spaces, offices, schools, hospitals, public transport,
and public parks to protect public health.
Furthermore, the government has banned smoking and sale of cigarettes/tobacco etc in public
parks across the province in a bid to protect children and the youth from smoking hazards,
including those that come with passive smoking, and to ensure a clean and healthy environment.
A notification has repeatedly been issued by the Housing, Urban Development and Public Health
Engineering Department, enforcing Section 5 and 7 of the Prohibition of Smoking and Protection
of Non-Smokers Health Ordinance, 2002.
The new policy prohibits smoking, use of e-cigarettes, vapes and all tobacco-related products
in the parks. It also bans the sale of such items at tuck shops, cafes and vending points within
or around the public parks.
It is worth mentioning here that according to the Prohibition of Smoking and Protection of Non-Smokers
Health Ordinance, 2002, a violator may face a fine from Rs1,000 to Rs100,000, depending on severity
and frequency of the violation.
