Daily Times

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government’s commitment to banning e-cigarettes and vapes in the province has been highly acclaimed, terming the decision as very beneficial in the longer run for ensuring better public health.

The appreciation came from a `Public Health Stakeholders Consultation’ organized by Blue Veins organization to discuss the regulations around e-cigarettes and vapes in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

It merits an insertion here that in a landmark development, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government on 16th January 2024 issued a notification for imposition of Section 144 for 60 days on the storage sale and use of e-cigarettes and vapes in the province.

In the notification, a ban on the sale of e-cigarettes and vapes to individuals below the age of 21 years was imposed. Similarly, the ban is also imposed on the sale, storage and use of e-cigarettes and vapes within a 50-meter radius of all the education institutions in the province.

The stakeholder consultation was participated by people from different walks of life including district administration, public health, tobacco control programme, police, media and others. In his welcome address, Qamar Naseem, Programme Manager of Blue Veins apprised the participants about efforts being made by Blue Vein in imposing restrictions on the sale of newer tobacco products and their impact.

He informed about different measures so far taken including holding several events and meeting with Governor KP, Haji Ghulam Ali, Chief Secretary and Special Secretary KP. Qamar informed that after the imposition of section 144, the KP government has assigned the task of drafting a new draft law to Secretary Excise. He expressed the hope that the new law will serve as the `Tobacco and Nicotine Vendor Act’ and will cover the loopholes presently being faced due to lacunas in the existing legislation.

Qamar gave a detailed briefing about the need of a new law as the existing legislation did not cover newer tobacco products including e-cigarettes, and vapes introduced as harm-reduction products used for quitting smoking. Qamar said KP has become the first province in the country to impose a ban on the sale of e-cigarettes and vapes to minors and within the vicinity of educational institutions. He said 46 countries in the world have completely banned the sale of e-cigarettes and vapes due to their adverse impacts on public health. However in Pakistan, he continued, there are no rules for regulating its use and KP has become the first province which decide in this regard.

He also suggested bringing Naswar (snuff) into the tax net and conducting a laboratory of its ingredients. By bringing Naswar in the tax net, the cash-strapped KP government can earn billions of rupees for spending on the betterment of millions of dwellers of the province. The tobacco cess should also be increased from nominal charges of Rs. 4 per one KP, he added. Qammar said since 1990 tobacco cess has not changed even though prices of essential commodities have shown a significant increase.

Assistant Commissioner Peshawar, Haroon while appreciating the efforts being made by Blue Veins regarding creating awareness about the effects of newer tobacco products on public health, calls for strong political will. He said politicians should be contacted to play their role in enacting a strong law from the provincial assembly.

In this connection, he also suggested for convincing political parties to incorporate restrictions on e-cigarettes in their party agenda during elections. It was also suggested to involve religious leaders to apprise people about the harms of newer tobacco products through Friday sermons.