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: Up to 80 per cent tomato farms in Sindh’s Badin wiped out as monsoon toll nears 1,000 deaths country-wide with big share of Punjab.
The Prime Minister has declared agricultural emergency as farm losses fuel fears of food inflation and supply disruptions.
The sight of arrays of withered tomato plants comes into view as soon as one arrives at a 50-acre farm in Sindh’s Badin district in southern Pakistan.
One farmer, Najma Habibullah, said will be forced to switch to more climate-resilient crops next season. Like other tomato farmers in Badin, she rues the effects of heavy monsoon rains that have damaged all the tomato crops her family cultivated this season.
According to the Sindh Rural Support Organization (SRSO), farmers in Badin grew about 15,000 acres of tomatoes between June 15 and Augyst 15 this year, of which 70 to 80 percent have been destroyed by rains and floods.
The devastation comes as Pakistan reels from monsoon flooding since June 26 that has killed 998 people nationwide, inundated 4,700 villages in Punjab and washed away crops and homes across the agricultural heartland. Alongside high river flows, Badin itself received 200 millimeters of rain this season — double its average — compounding the damage to vegetable crops.
“The normal rainfall remains limited to 100 (millimeters) which, if crossed, brings vulnerability,” SRSO District Manager Ahmed Khan Soomro said.
“The vegetable crop has been damaged very much, especially tomato. Tomato has vanished.”
Read more: Punjab Reports Over 33,000 Cases Of Various Diseases In Flood Areas
