civil society rejects mandatory nicotine pouch standards

Karachi 20-December 2026: Civil society organisations, child rights advocates, and human rights defenders in Sindh have unequivocally rejected the government’s move to fast-track mandatory standards for nicotine-containing tobacco-free oral products, warning that the initiative risks entrenching nicotine addiction while sidelining child protection and public health.
The rejection reflects a collective position of Sindh-based civil society networks and community platforms, which argue that converting a voluntary technical standard into a mandatory regime does not constitute effective health regulation. They stress that the proposal focuses on product specifications while failing to address essential safeguards such as strict age-verification, comprehensive marketing and flavour restrictions, retailer accountability, taxation, and access to cessation services, gaps that could accelerate youth uptake and long-term dependence.
“From the perspective of children and working communities, this move is deeply harmful,” said Akram Ali Khaskheli, President of the Hari Welfare Association and member of the Child Rights Movement. “Any policy that legitimizes addictive substances places children, especially those from marginalized backgrounds, at serious risk.”
Human rights activists emphasized that the push is driven by economic and industry narratives rather than the lived realities of communities. “Public policy must protect people, not markets,” stated Ahsan Ali Khoso, Human Rights Activist and President of the Movement for the Rights of Common People. “Formalising nicotine products without strong health protections will widen inequality and deepen addiction among the most vulnerable.”