Unchecked Sale Of Nicotine Pouches Should Be Curbed Immediately: Health Experts

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 3rd Aug, 2022 ) :Health activists expressed their concern over unchecked sale of nicotine pouches, a deceptive and dangerous product, launched by the big tobacco industry to make profits at the expense of public health.

In a joint press release shared by Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (SPARC), the health experts and the child rights organization urged the government to ban nicotine pouches as they were becoming increasingly popular among Pakistani youth due to elaborate social media campaigns.

Malik Imran Ahmed, Country Head of Campaign for Tobacco Free kids, mentioned the commonly available nicotine pouch brand, manufactured by the largest tobacco company in the world, which was launched in Pakistan in December 2019.

Imran mentioned that during last three years there had been no policy or legislation to control and monitor sales, promotion and advertisement of nicotine pouches. As a result, tobacco industry had launched deceptive campaigns and profited from them. The advertisement tactics include misleading customers into believing it to be energizer or focus-enhancing product.

The company was observed targeting specifically youth icons such as famous musicians, actors and models for paid social media content and even launched their own music show. According to Imran, these are all indicative of the target audience the brand is trying to reach i.e. youth and children.

He said that tobacco industry claimed that these products were not tobacco products and that they had launched it to help people overcome nicotine addiction. "Firstly, if they're not tobacco products then why exactly is a tobacco company manufacturing them? Secondly, it is medically proven that nicotine can cause serious threats such as cardiovascular disease and stroke, and harmful changes in the development of brain among children," Imran said highlighting that these products were easily available nearby all schools.

Khalil Ahmed Dogar, Program Manager SPARC, stated that Pakistan was largely a young country and nicotine was a highly addictive substance. "Such irresponsible marketing and messaging should have no room in a country like Pakistan. Nicotine addiction serves as a gateway to many other forms of substance abuse and may cause serious health and mental health issues among youth," Khalil said adding that if these attempts of tobacco industry to gain more buyers were not checked through proper mechanisms they would grow more powerful and keep being the cause of deaths and diseases in the country.

SPARC's Program Manager further said that tobacco companies were investing huge money in online campaigns on almost all social media platforms. "The algorithms of advertisements are designed in such deceptive manner that the ads appear even on those articles which are anti-tobacco," he said urging the media websites to take down these advertisements and raise awareness on harms of nicotine, second hand smoking, and adverse impacts of tobacco products on public economy and environment.

He mentioned that media was the strongest tool of social change and government should invest in such campaigns alongside regularizing the sales, promotion and advertisement of the alternative products to save precious lives.