Across the world, a new public health crisis is silently unfolding, one that threatens to undo decades of progress in combating addiction and disease, and Pakistan is no exception to this. While traditional tobacco use has been pushed down in many parts of the globe, the tobacco and nicotine industry has shifted its focus to products like e-cigarettes, vapes and nicotine pouches. These products are not only addictive; they have been aggressively designed and marketed to appeal to youth and adolescents, who are now being hooked on nicotine at alarming rates.
The WHO has raised the alarm repeatedly. On World No Tobacco Day 2025, WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus made a stark declaration: “Flavours are fueling a new wave of addiction and should be banned”. He warned that flavors like bubble gum, menthol and cotton candy are transforming toxic substances into seemingly attractive and youth-friendly products, undermining decades of progress in tobacco control and threatening public health gains. Without bold action, he emphasised, the global tobacco epidemic – already responsible for around eight million deaths each year – will continue to be driven by addiction dressed up with appealing flavours.
Recent estimates from the WHO confirm the scale of the problem: at least 15 million teenagers aged 13 to 15 worldwide now use e-cigarettes, and young people are, on average, nine times more likely to vape than adults in countries with available data. These figures reflect how instinctively youth are drawn to nicotine products that offer smooth, sweet and colourful experiences far removed from the harsher taste of traditional cigarettes.
Far from being innocent or benign, these products carry the same core danger as cigarettes: nicotine. Scientifically, adolescent brains are uniquely vulnerable to nicotine’s addictive properties. Early exposure disrupts neural development, impairing learning, attention and impulse control, while making teens far more prone to lifelong addiction. But rather than serving as tools to reduce harm among adult smokers, many of these new products are acting as gateways into nicotine addiction for a generation that might otherwise have never used tobacco.
The WHO’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), the landmark global treaty on tobacco, has urged countries to prohibit ingredients used to increase product attractiveness and palatability, such as sweeteners and flavours, because they specifically lure children and young people into addiction.
The global response demonstrates that this is not theoretical. As of December 2025, over 50 countries have banned flavored tobacco products outright, and more than 40 countries have banned e-cigarette sales entirely. Some nations, including Belgium, Denmark and Lithuania, have taken the bold step of restricting disposable vapes and flavours to protect youth from addiction. In many of these places, policymakers recognised that allowing fruity, candy-like options makes nicotine products inherently more appealing to children and teens, exactly the demographic the industry claims it does not target.
Nicotine pouches, which sit discreetly under the lip and deliver nicotine without smoke, are likewise drawing concern. Countries such as Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands have moved to ban nicotine pouches over fears that their colorful packaging and sweet flavours make them particularly attractive to young people, normalising nicotine use and serving as a stepping-stone to other addictive behaviours. These policy responses reflect a growing international consensus: flavours and novel nicotine delivery systems are a public health threat, not a harmless trend.
Yet in Pakistan, we are still behind the curve. There is no comprehensive federal law specifically regulating vapes, e-cigarettes or nicotine pouches, creating a permissive environment where these products flourish, often without age verification or health warnings. Surveys and expert observations reveal that e-cigarettes and pouches are readily available in major cities, sold in convenience stores, malls, and kiosks with bright packaging and flavors designed to appeal to young consumers. According to research by national policy organisations, products with fruity and minty flavours are widely accessible, and urban college students are experimenting with them at deeply worrying rates.
In regions where data is available, substantial proportions of youth report having tried vaping or nicotine products. These trends echo what global health authorities have warned about: in the absence of strong regulation, industry marketing and product design will fill the vacuum, targeting adolescents through social media, flashy branding and flavour innovation. Youth who might have never touched a traditional cigarette now find themselves introduced to nicotine through gummy bear, mango, or cotton-candy-flavoured pouches and vapes – a form of addiction bait that exploits adolescent curiosity and peer pressure.
Some provincial efforts have signaled that Pakistani authorities recognise the danger. In June 2025, Punjab province banned the sale and use of all vapes, e-cigarettes, and nicotine pouches, a clear acknowledgment that these products threaten public health. But without national legislation, the regulatory landscape remains fragmented and enforcement uneven. Indeed, legal challenges and ongoing court cases have undermined provincial measures, and at the federal level, products still enter the market unchecked through retail shops and online channels. This legal patchwork allows manufacturers and retailers to continue marketing addictive products with minimal oversight.
The stakes could not be higher. As WHO and health advocates worldwide stress, proactively banning nicotine products, including flavours, tightening age restrictions, regulating packaging and preventing youth overtures are essential steps in preventing a generation from being trapped in addiction. Pakistan can and should adopt similar policies. For starters, banning all vapes/e-liquids and nicotine pouches would align with the WHO’s 2025 call for action and with the steps taken by countries seeking to protect their future generations.
Public awareness campaigns in schools and communities can educate parents and students about the real risks of nicotine addiction, countering industry narratives that downplay harms. Finally, Pakistan should fast-track comprehensive national legislation that supersedes uneven provincial rules and aligns with WHO FCTC commitments, including protections against tobacco industry interference in public policy, banning all (new) nicotine products.
Our children’s health should not be auctioned to profit motives. As WHO experts have declared, flavours and industry manipulation have “no place in a healthy future”. By acting decisively to ban nicotine products, restrict youth access, and enforce these laws with health in mind, Pakistan can protect its youth and safeguard decades of gains in tobacco control. The alternative, watching a new generation become addicted, with all the attendant health, social and economic consequences, is a future no country should accept.
The writer is a tobacco control advocate and works as Head of Health Policy and Innovation at the Sustainable Development Policy Institute.
