ISLAMABAD: The National Health Services (NHS) minister, Saira Afzal Tarar, on Tuesday could not give a date when the government will finally increase the size of pictorial warning on cigarette packs.

Ms Tarar on May 31, 2014 had announced that the warning would be enlarged before next tobacco day, for which she was awarded by World Health Organization (WHO).

While speaking to participants at a seminar, held in connection with World No-Tobacco Day on Tuesday the minister said that it had been decided to enhance the size of the pictorial warning on both sides of 85 per cent cigarette packs but an Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC), formed to review its impact on revenue and smuggling, recommended implementing the decision in phase d manner.

`However even those recommendations could not be implemented because of court cases against the decision of IMC,` Ms Tarar said.

Meanwhile, a team of Tobacco Smoke Free Capital Project, launched by Ministry of CADD and headed by Dr Minhajus Siraj, declared the Chief Commissioner Complex as smoke free premises.

`In Pakistan smoking causes an estimated 90 per cent of all lung cancer deaths in men and 80 percent in women and it claims 100,000 lives every year,` Dr Siraj said while addressing the seminar.