ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is one of 15 countries worldwide with a heavy burden of tobacco-related health issues, a representative of the Ministry of National Health Services` (NHS) Tobacco Control Cell said on Monday.Speaking at an event organised by the Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (Sparc), he said that 1,000 to 1,200 Pakistani children between the ages of six and 15 begin smoking every day, according to the results of the 2015 Global Adult Tobacco Survey.

`Pakistan`s population consists of 60pc youth below the age of 25, where alarming statistics of young people getting addicted and at risk of tobacco consumption calls for strict tax reforms and checks for selling cigarettes to minors particularly. The worrisome aspect is the healthcare burden, which is Rs143 billion compared to revenue generation, which only stands at Rs83 billion currently, leading to loss tothe federal exchequer,` he said.

Sparc Executive Director Sajjad Ahmad Cheema said tobacco companies are targeting women and minors to expand their future markets.

He said that growing smoking habits among young people were the first step to drugs, and highlighted the role of antismoking campaigns in reducing health risks in schools and colleges.

`We have been working with government and civil society to increase the taxes on tobacco products to condemn smoking habits in youngsters.

`There are laws to control tobacco sales to minors to promote a healthy lifestyle, he said.Human Development Foundation CEO retired COL Azhar Saleem said at the event that the Prohibition of Smoking and Protection of Non-Smokers Health Ordinance includes measures to stop people smoking in public, bans access to tobacco productsneareducationalinstitutions and restricts sales of cigarettes to those under 18.

Chaudhry Sanaullah Ghuman, a representative from the Pakistan Heart Association, said that passive smoking is equally dangerous for the youth and minors. Worldwide, it is estimated that 40pc of children up to the age of 14 are exposed to passive smoking, which causes 600,000 deaths globally.