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PESHAWAR, Nov 04 (APP):Provincial Alliance for Sustainable Tobacco Control (PASTC) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa issues a call to the newly formed provincial government to adopt and implement comprehensive tobacco control measures without delay especially to curb the rising use of newer nicotine products among youth in the province.
Sharing recent recent data in a press statement here on Tuesday, PASTC says tobacco is responsible for an estimated 164,000–165,000 deaths annually, of which 101,300 (77.5%) are due to smoking and 29,300 (22.5%) are attributed to exposure to secondhand smoke.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has reported that Pakistan is losing approximately $2.5 billion every year due to the “devastating impacts” of tobacco on public health and the economy, it added.
In a country where nearly 20–25 million adults use tobacco products, the scale of the challenge is immense.
Pakistan ratified the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) in 2004 and is therefore bound to implement its provisions—including protection from exposure to tobacco smoke, regulation of tobacco product contents and marketing, and prohibition of sales to minors.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has a vital opportunity to demonstrate leadership by fully aligning provincial legislation and enforcement with these global commitments.
In view of the above, PASTC KP calls on the provincial government to adopt without delay a series of urgent measures.
These include ensuring the prohibition of smoking in public places across all indoor workplaces, public transport, restaurants, and recreational facilities; passing and operationalising the Tobacco Vendor Licensing Bill 2025 to regulate vendors and restrict access by minors
The government should also adopt Sale and Storage of E-Cigarettes and Vapes Bill 2025 to regulate newer nicotine products through age restrictions, licensing, and warnings besides strengthening enforcement and reporting mechanisms within the Health Department to ensure compliance with tobacco control laws.
PASTC KP also suggested introducing a PC-1 by the Health Department to demonstrate the provincial government’s ownership and budgetary commitment towards tobacco control.
The youth of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa face heightened vulnerability while data on e-cigarette use in Pakistan remain limited, recent studies show that regulatory gaps allow many newer products to target young people, undermining decades of progress in smoking prevention.
Unless the provincial government acts now, there is a real risk of a new generation becoming addicted to nicotine in forms previously unregulated, it warns.
Usman Afridi, Convenor of the Provincial Alliance for Sustainable Tobacco Control KP, stated, “The new government must act boldly now.
This is a moment of opportunity to protect our young people in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from a lifetime of addiction and disease.”
Civil society activist Qamar Naseem added, “We urge the Health Minister and Chief Minister to demonstrate leadership by completing the unfinished legislative agenda and enforcing what already exists ;our children deserve nothing less.”
PASTC KP urges Chief Minister Muhammad Sohail Afridi and Health Minister Khaleeq ur Rehman to prioritize tobacco control as a cornerstone of the province’s public health agenda.