Islamabad (Izhhar Khan Niazi) – A meeting was held between the Young Parliamentarians Forum and the Society for Protection of the Rights of the Child (SPARC) at the Parliament House, focusing on enhancing tobacco control measures to protect youth from tobacco and new nicotine products, particularly vaping and nicotine pouches. The meeting was chaired by Syeda Nosheen Iftikhar, President of the Young Parliamentarians Forum and a member of the National Assembly, while Nawabzada Mir Jamal Khan Raisani, the Forum’s General Secretary, co-chaired the session. Participants emphasized the need for a coordinated strategy to safeguard youth from tobacco and nicotine addiction. Discussions included raising awareness among students, parents, and teachers, making health warnings on tobacco products more effective, regulating the sale and display of tobacco products around educational institutions, increasing taxes on tobacco, preventing tobacco smuggling, and ensuring strict enforcement of existing laws. The meeting also stressed the importance of launching special awareness campaigns for children and youth and effective public messaging regarding the harmful effects of smoking. The Young Parliamentarians Forum and SPARC agreed to continue joint efforts in awareness and parliamentary coordination. SPARC will provide parliament members with awareness materials related to tobacco control and a regional comparative review of pictorial health warnings, while special briefing sessions on tobacco control measures will be organized for parliamentarians. The meeting also reached an agreement to contact PEMRA for the preparation and dissemination of awareness materials for youth and to enhance cooperation with relevant district administrations for effective implementation of tobacco control laws. Participants expressed their commitment to continue joint efforts to protect Pakistan’s youth from tobacco and nicotine addiction and to strengthen tobacco control initiatives.