ISLAMABAD: Various Islamic scholars recently gave a ruling (fatwa) that smoking is impermissible, undesirable, and adverse to human health.
The Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) and the Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (SPARC) organised a conference where Islamic scholars were gathered.
Participants of the conference were told that Society increasingly notices the lethal effects of smoking. These effects are detrimental for smokers and passive smokers, i.e., those exposed to cigarette smoke, especially the younger generation, which is why scholars feel the need to remind the public of these dangers.
Ali Mohammad Khan, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs, said that in a country such as Pakistan, an exaggerated impact of smoking would be seen as the individual ages and develops multiple tobacco-associated health problems, including chronic lung and heart disease and almost all cancers.
There have been no changes in tobacco taxation for years; however, policies to check tobacco consumption and meet international targets need urgent revision, the minister said.
Qibla Ayaz, Chairman, CII, said, according to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), smoking is a danger to oneself and others.
However, he further added, considering the harms of cigarettes, the CII and leading Islamic scholars present in the conference were in harmony that smoking as per Islamic law is in the category of activities that need to be halted.
