[DAWN] After failing to get any result during the previous government, tobacco control advocates are hopeful that the government of Prime Minister Imran Khan will not only take steps to increase revenue collection from the tobacco industry but will also protect the citizens against hazards of smoking.At present, the country is facing an annual loss of around Rs30 billion due to low taxes on the tobacco industry while health of the youth is at a stake.
“Imran Khan and Finance Minister Asad Umar had on a number of occasions assured us that they would support our efforts to save the health of the youth because Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) speaks more about the youth. The previous government announced to enhance the size of the pictorial health warning from 40pc to 85pc of the cigarette packet in 2014 but the promise was never fulfilled.