Islamabad: Rising tobacco and nicotine use among Pakistan’s youth, especially around educational institutions, emerged as the central concern at a national review session on tobacco control held by the Aurat Foundation in Islamabad.
Participants from Parliament, government departments, health organizations, and civil society warned that easy availability of cigarettes, vapes, nicotine pouches, and flavored tobacco near schools is creating a growing public health threat. The discussion also pointed to a noticeable increase in tobacco use among women, indicating a shifting trend.
The session called for stronger legislation, faster policy action, and strict enforcement to counter the rapid spread of emerging nicotine products. Speakers emphasized that existing laws remain poorly implemented due to procedural delays, weak monitoring, and limited coordination between federal and provincial bodies.
The need for clear parental awareness, community engagement, and better recognition of new nicotine products was highlighted as an essential part of early prevention. Officials noted that families and schools often remain unaware of modern products marketed to young people.
Technical briefings identified major enforcement gaps and policy loopholes that allow the tobacco industry to expand its reach. Participants noted that companies are increasingly using social media trends, entertainment content, and youth-focused marketing to promote vaping in urban areas.
Government representatives reaffirmed ongoing federal efforts to implement the Prohibition of Smoking and Protection of Non-Smokers Health Ordinance 2002 and to tighten regulations where required. Provincial representatives also announced plans to introduce new resolutions to strengthen tobacco control.
Education sector officials raised alarms over the rise of nicotine products around private institutions and called for tougher regulatory checks. Regulatory authorities stressed the need for a broader social movement to counter tobacco use nationwide.
Closing the event, the Aurat Foundation reiterated its commitment to evidence-based advocacy, cross-sector collaboration, and long-term public awareness initiatives aimed at building a healthier, tobacco-free society.LAHORE: Women Democratic Front (WDF) is deeply disturbed and concerned over the sexual abuse of minors at Darul Amaan Lahore (Kashana), followed by the suspicious killing of an orphan who had spoken out against the abuse.
“We demand an immediate judicial inquiry into the suspicious death of Iqra Kainat, who had revealed that orphans in the shelter are sexually abused by provincial ministers”m said a statement issued by WDF.
The former superintendent of Kashana, Afshan Latif, has named Punjab Social Welfare Minister Raja Basharat and Minister for Inspection Teams Muhammad Ajmal for being responsible for Kainat’s death.
According to Latif, government officials abducted Kainat, issued a fake death certificate for her when she was in their captivity and then killed her. In November last year, Latif had said that the orphanage was being used by ministers and other influential individuals to sexually abuse minor girls.
The body formed by the government to investigate the Kashana abuse scandal (Chief Minister’s Inspection Team) gave a clean chit to former provincial Minister for Social Welfare, Ajmal Cheema, in December. Latif had named Cheema along with Afshan Kiran Imtiaz, the director-general of Kashana, in her complaint to her department. The complaint stated that Imtiaz was pressuring Latif to marry underage girls to high-ranking officials. She said that Cheema was complicit in the offence. These complaints, followed by the suspicious death of an orphan who had spoken out against sexual abuse at Kashana, merit an immediate thorough investigation.
The convenors of WDF-Lahore, Minerwa Tahir and Saira Minto, said that these appalling developments require an immediate and thorough investigation led by a judicial commission that also has representation of Kashana workers who are sympathetic towards orphans who suffered abuse. “We can see how the government is completely uninterested in conducting a serious investigation,” they said.
“At a time when the government should have conducted a thorough inquiry and taken action against the culprits, Afshan Latif was instead arrested on trumped up charges and threatened by government representatives. We strongly condemn the violent wave of sexual crimes and growing patriarchal violence in Pakistan against women, particularly women who are marginalised and exploited for belonging to the working class. The involvement of parliamentarians and state functionaries in such crimes is shameful to its very core. We demand an end to the ongoing killings of women.”
The WDF thinks that by virtue of its inaction and attempts to cover up the case, the government is in the final analysis complicit in covering up abuse.
With input from INP
Read more: National Consultation held on ESP for women subject to violence in Pakistan
