Pakistan is a country with heavy use of tobacco. With more than 24 million tobacco users¹, the country is also one of the top ten raw tobacco producers in the world².

Despite successes in the tobacco control efforts, Pakistan continues to witness a constant increase in the number of tobacco users. After almost two decades of tobacco control efforts, Pakistan has reached a stage where it needs to find innovative approaches to help smokers quit smoking. Critically smokers need to be at the center of innovative approaches, helping them to achieve the ultimate goal of quitting smoking.

Pakistan Alliance for Nicotine and Tobacco Harm Reduction (PANTHR), a project of Alternative Research Initiative (ARI), is an initiative aimed at promoting innovative solutions for smoking cessation. While remaining committed to and supporting tobacco control efforts in Pakistan, especially Article 14 of FCTC, the alliance serves as a platform for advocating and promoting all innovative solutions for ending smoking whether counselling, NRTs, or harm reduction.

Further, the alliance serves as repository of research and scientific work and initiatives on safe nicotine delivery systems and harm reduction for tobacco control. PANTHR works with the policy makers, partners, and smokers in making Pakistan smoke free.