Anti-tobacco activists to lodge protest with Ministry of Health, WHO
Jump to full article: The News (pk), 2008-08-30
Intro: In an interesting development that took place this week in a nice and cozy hotel located in the famous tourist resort of Nathiagali, a leading tobacco industry spent hundreds of thousands of rupees to organise a one-day workshop on 'Responsible Journalism.'
Around 20 journalists were taken to Nathiagali on the expenses of the tobacco industry to learn the A, B, C of 'responsible' journalism and the impact that irresponsible reporting can have on people reading or watching their scripts.
Taking note of the development, Khurram Hashmi, coordinator of the Society for Alternate Media and Research (Samar) as well as Coalition for Tobacco Control, told 'The News' that his organisation will register its regret to the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organisation (WHO) against the tobacco industry openly engaging with mediapersons. . . .
The tobacco industry also distributed attractively designed booklets about how hard it is trying to save the crippling economy of the country by contributing millions and millions of dollars as taxes. Interestingly, none of the booklets contains any mention of the millions and millions of dollars the government requires to provide treatment to patients suffering from diseases induced by tobacco use.
This new move by the ever-intelligent managers of the tobacco industry has come almost a month after the Ministry of Health and WHO facilitated the establishment of the Journalists' Health Forum . . .
'The News' has learnt that some of the tobacco industries operating in NWFP and parts of Kashmir have openly started violating the anti-tobacco law by issuing banned advertisements to various media outfits.
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