Photo and report credit: Khurram Hashmi, Coalition for Tobacco Control – Pakistan

The Coalition for Tobacco Control Pakistan (CTC-Pak) organized 60 activities to celebrate World No Tobacco Day with the support of its members in 34 cities covering all four provinces of Pakistan. Activities included seminars, orientation sessions, rallies/walks, speech/poster/sports competitions, interactive theatre, signature campaigns, banner/poster displays, picketing & meetings. Participants included local government officials, law enforcement authorities, parliamentarians, health & education government departments, media, lawyers, civil society organizations, youth and community members.

In Islamabad, CTC-Pak displayed a 150 feet long banner carrying signatures from tobacco control activists from all over the country demanding strict tobacco control laws and their effective implementation. More than 140 banners carrying awareness messages were displayed at busy intersections and bridges. A signature campaign was also carried out in Rawalpindi where more than 1000 people demanded for complete ban on tobacco advertisements and condemned the tactics by tobacco industry.