The Federal Government has assured the Supreme Court that it has banned all import of tobacco used in ‘sheesha’.
According to the submitted report; the Ministry of National Health Services claimed that after banning the import of tobacco, the Ministry of Commerce had also asked the Chairman of Federal Board of Revenue, Nisar M. Khan, to direct all customs for surety of the implementation of a Statutory Regulatory Order (SRO) of 2016 (banning the tobacco import).
The report stated that the issue had come up for consideration by the Federal Cabinet on Sept 30, 2016. It was further put forth by the National Health Services Ministry, signifying obligation of the ban on the import of flavoured/non-flavoured sheesha tobacco.
The cabinet passed the bill on the ban on sheesha tobacco through an appropriate law to the import policy order issued through SRO, adding that the ministry had amended the order through SRO 970 (1)/2016 on Oct 13, 2016, to ban the import of sheesha tobacco.
The Supreme Court has also requested the government to advertise harmful effects of sheesha smoking through newspapers, television, print, etc, and arrange corner meetings to prove and discourage people, especially youth, from indulging in sheesha smoking.
