Lying down on the sofa, 12-year-old Ali, watched the message 'Smoking is injurious to health' blaring through the TV screen while his father, sitting next to him, lit up another cigarette; his third one in an hour.

No wonder the average age of smoking initiation in a city like Karachi is 13.1 according to a study. Hardly any person in our country would be unfamiliar with this famous line that tells us the hazards of smoking. In fact, almost all of us have grown up listening to and watching this message followed by every advertisement of cigarettes. But, despite all these warnings, every year in Pakistan, around 0.1 million people die of complications caused by tobacco smoking. A total 1.8 million youth between 10 to 24 years of age are at high risk of getting cancer and other diseases from smoking according to the estimates of Pakistan Medical Society.

Factors that commonly play a role in initiation of smoking among adolescents include social factors, smoking among family members, peers, teachers, psychological relaxation, pleasure, and economic factors. Adolescents are more likely to be smokers if their peers are smokers. Boys who spend most of their leisure time outside their homes are more prone to smoke cigarettes as are those who have a smoker in the family.

Keeping in view the alarming trend of smoking which is on the rise among teenagers, Pfizer, a leading pharmaceutical company in the world with a huge presence in Pakistan, has initiated a poster competition among selected schools in Karachi. The competition is a part of the company's public awareness campaign against smoking and a contributor in the company's drive to continue working on social responsibility projects.

The main objective of this competition, the theme of which is 'A World without Smoking', is to create awareness amongst school-going children, especially teenagers, about the hazards of smoking. This campaign aims to involve young souls with a vision to work towards making this world a smoke free place.

And since art can play a very important role in addressing social ills, the students from different schools have been invited to participate in an anti-smoking poster competition. The age groups for those participating in the competition are divided into three slots; 12-14 years, 15-17 yeaRs and 18-19 years. A selection of 15 entries from each school, comprising all age groups will become a part of an Art Exhibition, which is the essence of this entire poster competition, and which will take place towards the end of March. The three prize winning entries, one from each category of age group will be given gold medals by the organiser.

The project is headed by the famous artist and the author of many books on art in Pakistan, Marjorie Husain. While renowned personalities in the field of art like Noorjehan Bilgrami, Nahid Raza, and Tapu Javeri will be judging the entries submitted by the participating schools.

Expressing her views on the poster competition, Husain said, "In an effort to create civil awareness, and sense of being part of a contributing society, our hopes are directed towards young people. In numerous areas work is to be done and it is the school children who are the hopes of the future. In this context we plan to evolve a number of projects highlighting ways and aspects of a healthier world for all. This is a beginning. Through art and colour and the forceful exuberance of the youth of the country, we believe lessons can be learnt."