ISLAMABAD – Pakistan is facing surge in vaping among teens, prompting lawmakers to introduce bill in the Senate to ban the sale of e-cigarettes, vapes, and e-hookahs to anyone under 18.
In a dramatic move to curb rising nicotine addiction among youth, Senator Sarmad Ali has introduced bold bill in the Senate aiming to ban the sale of e-cigarettes, vapes, and e-hookahs to anyone under 18. The proposed legislation also cracks down on packaging, advertising, and sale of these products nationwide.
Under the bill, all e-cigarettes and vaping products must come in child-proof, tamper-resistant packaging with clear ingredient lists and warnings about their addictive nature. Retailers ignoring the rules could face fines of Rs 50,000, while repeat offenders could be hit with penalties of Rs 100,000.
The legislation goes further by banning all advertising and promotion—on billboards, TV, print, or online—and prohibiting sales within 50 meters of schools and other educational institutions. Import, manufacture, or sale of unapproved products would also be illegal.
The timing comes amid alarming findings from the World Health Organization (WHO), which warns that vaping and heated tobacco use is rising rapidly among Pakistani youth, even as global smoking rates fall to record lows. Nearly one in ten teenagers aged 13–15 in Pakistan has tried a tobacco or vaping product, with college students experimenting even more.
Public health experts are sounding the alarm over flavored e-liquids and nicotine products being aggressively marketed to teens. “These devices are not safe alternatives—they are hooking a new generation,” said a senior Ministry of Health official. Early nicotine addiction significantly raises the risk of lifelong dependency and serious lung damage.
The eye-opening report highlights Pakistan’s failure to implement strict tobacco control measures, such as taxation, plain packaging, and strong advertising bans, leaving the country vulnerable to a new wave of nicotine addiction.
Experts warn that unless Pakistan acts quickly, it could face a public health crisis fueled by vaping, with young people becoming the next generation of nicotine-dependent adults. Dr. Saima Saeed of the Indus Hospital emphasized that tobacco is not only a health hazard but an environmental one, contributing to deforestation, air pollution, and ecosystem damage.
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