President for using digital tech to improve healthcare services

ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

President Dr Arif Alvi has called for using digital technologies to improve the health and well-being of the people of Pakistan and provide them with quality healthcare services. He emphasised that advances in medical technology could help transform the country’s medicine and healthcare system.

The President expressed the views while talking to the Chief Executive Officer of Pakistan and Afghanistan Siemens Healthineers, Mr Khurram Jameel, who called on him, at Aiwan-e-Sadr, today.

Mr Khurram Jameel briefed the President that

Make cigarettes hard to buy, demand academicians

LAHORE Staff RepoRt

The rise in cigarette taxes in Pakistan is a significant step in the direction of lowering tobacco use and advancing public health, say social scientists.

Academicians believe that this action demonstrates the government's dedication to shielding its population from the perils of smoking. “To further lower smoking rates in Pakistan, NGOs and other public health advocates must continue to push for stricter tobacco control laws,” said Prof Dr Muhammad Zaman of the Quid-i-Azam University, Islamabad.

“It is vital to invest in public education and effective enforcement of tobacco control laws to achieve a tobacco-free Pakistan,” he said.

He expressed his gratitude by thanking the government for increasing FED after an SRO was released on 14th February 2023. The SRO stated revised taxes on locally produced cigarettes, and FED has doubled on cigarettes (16500/- per 1000 cigarettes if the initial price on the packaging exceeds 9000 per 1000 cigarettes). He further stated that the government of Pakistan can now inflate the national exchequer by billions of rupees from this initiative.

Agreeing with him, Dr Hassan Shehzad of International Islamic University Islamabad, said smoking is a major issue in Pakistan, where millions of people are dependent on this destructive behaviour. Smoking is a major contributor to a number of illnesses, such as lung cancer, heart disease, stroke, and other respiratory difficulties. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that smoking causes around 166,000 deaths per year in Pakistan. This figure is concerningly high, and it necessitates quick action to stop the nation's tobacco pandemic.

Dr Shehzad said a tried-and-true way to decrease tobacco use is to raise the charge on cigarettes. Because of this approach, cigarettes are more expensive, which may deter individuals from smoking—especially young people. Also, the extra tax money can be utilised to assist with smoking cessation programmes and finance anti-smoking ads.

Siemens Healthineers was one of the leading healthcare solution providers in Pakistan and its mission was to transform healthcare delivery and improve patient experience through digitalization.

Talking to the CEO, the President emphasised that Pakistani healthcare providers needed to embrace innovation and transform healthcare delivery to successfully meet the challenges in the health sector, besides fulfilling the future healthcare needs of the country.

He underlined the need for establishing partnerships among government institutions, private organizations, and NGOs to work together for the betterment of persons with disabilities and raise awareness about breast cancer.

The President appreciated the efforts of Siemens Healthineers for the development of the healthcare sector of Pakistan.