DLP Report
PESHAWAR
The National Alliance for Sustainable Tobacco and Nicotine Control (NASTNC) has urged the federal and provincial governments to allocate dedicated funds for tobacco control in the upcoming 2026–27 budget, warning that without sustained investment and political commitment, rising tobacco use and related health crises cannot be effectively addressed.
Speaking on the issue, NASTNC Coordinator Usman Afridi said that tobacco control policies cannot be implemented effectively without specific budgetary allocations. He called on provincial governments to provide clear funding to combat the increasing use of tobacco and new nicotine products, support enforcement of existing laws, launch awareness campaigns, and establish smoking cessation centres.
NASTNC pointed out that Pakistan is a signatory to the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) and is bound to implement effective policies to reduce tobacco use.
However, civil society organisations note that tobacco control programmes, particularly at the provincial level, continue to suffer from inadequate funding.
Citing WHO and Global Burden of Disease (GBD) estimates, the alliance highlighted that nearly 164,000 Pakistanis die each year from tobacco-related diseases — an average of 440–450 deaths daily. Of these, around 31,000 deaths occur among non-smokers exposed to second-hand smoke.
Speaking alongside Mr. Afridi, Ahsan Ali Khoso and Bahram Laghari emphasised that tobacco control should be made a public health priority.
They said that budgetary support was crucial to strengthen awareness programmes, enforce laws, and protect youth from nicotine addiction.
The alliance called on the Federal Ministry of Finance, provincial finance departments, and health ministries to ensure that tobacco and nicotine control programmes receive permanent funding in the 2026–27 budget to protect citizens from preventable diseases and deaths.
