Vice chancellors and rectors from universities across Pakistan have signed a landmark charter committing their institutions to creating tobacco, smoking, vaping and recreational nicotine-free campuses to protect students from addiction.
The charter was adopted during the Fifth Monthly Meeting of the Vice Chancellors and Rectors Forum, hosted by COMSATS University Islamabad (CUI) at its Islamabad campus on October 9.
The initiative aims to establish a unified framework for eliminating tobacco and recreational nicotine use across participating universities, covering conventional tobacco products as well as e-cigarettes, vaping devices, heated tobacco products and nicotine pouches.
Under the agreement, universities will progressively implement nicotine-free campus policies, promote student-led awareness campaigns, support research on tobacco and nicotine use, and introduce institutional monitoring and annual assessments to measure progress.
The university leaders also agreed to send a joint letter, accompanied by the signed charter, to the Prime Minister through the Higher Education Commission (HEC) chairman, seeking national-level policy intervention to strengthen tobacco and nicotine control in higher education institutions.
Welcoming the participants, COMSATS University Islamabad Rector Prof Dr Raheel Qamar highlighted the responsibility of university leadership to respond to rapidly evolving societal and technological challenges. He also discussed the potential impact of artificial intelligence and its convergence with emerging technologies, including quantum computing, on scientific discovery, knowledge creation and the future of higher education.
The meeting brought together university leaders and representatives of higher education institutions from Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir to discuss major academic, regulatory and financial challenges facing Pakistan’s higher education sector.
Participants included the heads and representatives of Air University, Bahria University, FAST-National University, Fatima Jinnah Women University, Federal Urdu University, Health Services Academy, HITEC University, Iqra University, National Skills University, National University of Technology, Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences, PAF-IAST, Preston University, SZABIST University, Virtual University of Pakistan and other institutions.
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The charter marks a collective effort by university leadership to address nicotine use in academic environments through institutional policies, awareness initiatives and evidence-based action. The forum concluded with a renewed commitment to cooperation, policy advocacy and reforms aimed at strengthening Pakistan’s higher education sector.
