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.KARACHI: The leadership of Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) accused Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari of threatening Karachi traders.
Demanding the “authorities” to take notice of the threat, it insisted that the Muttahida had “only endured the biased Sindh government for the sake of democracy in the country”.
Addressing a press conference, the top MQM-P leadership sounded angry over the recent address of the PPP chairman to the Karachi businessmen in which he had told them that they should come to him with their grievances instead of going to “other forums”.
In the same address at a lunch hosted to the businessmen of the city, Mr Bhutto-Zardari had also defended his party’s performance and reminded them of the situation in Karachi that prevailed before 2008, when the PPP formed the government.
However, the address didn’t go down well with the MQM-P ranks which saw it as an open threat to the traders.
MQM-P chairman Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui said that for the past 15 years “a so-called artificial majority government” had been running in Sindh under the guise of democracy.
The Muttahida, he said, was the only representative party of urban areas in Sindh which had been consistently protesting the ongoing injustices in the province.
“Similarly, traders and industrialists have also been expressing their concerns,” he said.
“When the PPP chairman and Sindh chief minister invited traders and industrialists, we were under the misconception that they would apologise for the previous injustices and announce corrective measures. Instead, the language used by the ruling class was nothing less than a threat. This is a tragic situation where one group invests 100 per cent of the resources and capacity to run the province, while another group, which holds less than 1 per cent share, controls all the resources.”
Senior party leader Mustafa Kamal said that businessmen of Karachi were threatened and that the authorities should take its notice.
The traders and industrialists, he said, had also presented their proposals and concerns before the chief of the army staff, which “offended certain individuals”.
“The MQM Pakistan has always stood by its business community. We have always advocated for the welfare of our people,” he said.
“For all these injustices with this city and urban Sindh, the MQM-P’s demand is very clear. We firmly believe that the 27th Constitutional Amendment is the guarantee for Pakistan’s survival and development. The PPP has dressed the rural and urban quotas up, which in reality were the “Sindhi-Mohajir quotas”.
Another party leader, Dr Farooq Sattar, said that the PPP had “enslaved” the entire Sindh and it’s the feudal mindset which was affecting every provincial institution and system of governance.
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