Call to ban online advertisements of tobacco products.

ISLAMABAD -- Health activists have urged the government to ban online advertisements and sale of tobacco products so that the health of the youth of Pakistan could be protected.

They were speaking in an interactive session 'Social media's influence on sale and advertisement of modern tobacco products' organised by the Society for the Protection of the Rights of Child (Sparc).

The objective of the interactive session was to reach out to social media influencers to expose the tactics of tobacco industry's deceptive social media campaigns.

Country Head Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids Malik Imran Ahmed said according to data about 1,200 children initiated smoking each day in Pakistan. Tobacco industry is utilising social media to promote their innovative products and manipulate children and adolescents into buying these harmful products.

'Children are being attracted by tobacco industry's tricks because of newly introduced ways of advertisement and involvement of celebrities. The responsibility falls onto the government to ban advertisement and sale of all kinds of new tobacco products to children to save the future of our children,' he said.

Dr Ziauddin Islam, Country Lead (Vital Strategies)...