Pakistan’s tobacco control measures reduced consumption by 15.7% over 10 years

The Global Adult Tobacco Survey 2024 confirms the positive impact of Pakistan’s policies under the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. ISLAMABAD – Pakistan successfully reduced tobacco consumption by 15.7% between 2014 and 2024 thanks to measures implemented to fulfill its international obligations under the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), according to new findings from the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) 2024 led by the Government of Pakistan in partnership with WHO and the CDC Foundation. However, despite progress, tobacco products are still consumed by 16.1% of the Pakistani population aged 15 and above. As a result, each year, tobacco continues to cause nearly 164,000 deaths and economic losses of over 1,800 billion Pakistani rupees (around US$6.6 billion). The GATS 2024 results were presented today – under the leadership of Federal Health Minister Syed Mustafa Kamal– as part of the extended celebrations of World No Tobacco Day and the international campaign launched by WHO under the theme “Unmask the Appeal – Countering Tobacco and Nicotine Addiction.” The survey follows a science-based global standard protocol for systematically monitoring adult tobacco use, offering the last decade’s trends and a comparison with the 2014 round. It was conducted by the National Institute of Population Studies Training and Research in collaboration with the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination – through its Tobacco Control Cell – and WHO. More than 11,000 interviews were completed with an overall response rate of 95.6%. GATS enhances countries’ capacity to design, implement and evaluate tobacco control programs. It also assists countries in fulfilling their international obligations under the WHO FCTC –signed by Pakistan in 2004 – and in generating comparable data within and across countries. The Secretary of the Ministry of National Health Regulations, Services and Coordination Muhammad