Report ANI
ISLAMABAD : The Pakistan National Heart Association (PANAH) has expressed serious concerns over the lack of consultation with health experts and medical organizations before the Senate approved legislation aimed at bringing new and emerging tobacco products within the legal and regulatory framework.
PANAH said decisions involving products with potential public health consequences should be taken after hearing health experts, doctors, medical organizations and public health institutions.
According to PANAH, the association had previously challenged tobacco-related legislation, following which a special Senate committee was constituted. The committee recommended its early repeal and observed that relevant stakeholders, particularly PANAH, should be given an opportunity to present their views before similar decisions are taken in the future.
PANAH General Secretary Sana Ullah Ghumman said the association contacted the Chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on Health after learning about the bill and requested an opportunity for PANAH and other medical and public health organizations to brief the committee and present scientific evidence concerning the potential health risks of emerging tobacco products.
When the request did not initially receive adequate attention, PANAH wrote to the Chairman of the Senate, urging that health-sector organizations be heard before any decision was taken. Following the association's efforts, the Chairman of the Senate directed the Chairman of the Standing Committee on Health to hear PANAH's position.
PANAH representatives subsequently met the committee chairman. However, instead of formally hearing PANAH and other health organizations before the committee, a meeting was proposed between PANAH and the senator who had introduced the bill.
PANAH said it welcomed the proposal and made repeated efforts to arrange the meeting. However, despite several assurances and scheduled appointments, the meeting was repeatedly postponed and ultimately did not take place. The committee chairman also attempted to facilitate the meeting, according to PANAH.
The association later wrote again to the committee chairman, maintaining that the matter was not merely an issue between PANAH and the bill's sponsor but a national public health concern requiring formal consideration by the Senate Standing Committee on Health.
PANAH also approached members of the Standing Committee, requesting that medical organizations, public health experts and other relevant stakeholders be invited to brief the committee on the potential health impacts of emerging tobacco products.
Despite these efforts, PANAH said neither it nor other public health stakeholders were invited to formally present their positions or scientific evidence before the committee.
The association expressed concern that the legislation was approved without hearing the views of relevant health experts and organizations, and called for greater transparency and broader stakeholder consultation in policymaking involving tobacco and nicotine products.
"When legislation concerns products that may affect public health, listening to the voice of health experts is not merely an option; it is an essential part of responsible legislation," Sana Ullah Ghumman said.
PANAH further called for tobacco and nicotine policies to be based on independent scientific evidence and public health considerations, with emphasis on preventing disease and avoiding measures that could normalize or increase the availability of tobacco and nicotine products.
