# Islamabad-area universities sign charter to phase out smoking, vaping and nicotine pouches Source: Searchable (https://searchable.pk/news/education/islamabad-area-universities-sign-charter-to-phase-out-smoking-vaping-and) Type: News article Author: Searchable Editorial Published: 10 Oct 2026 Updated: 10 Oct 2026 Retrieved: 10 Oct 2026 > Universities in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, GB and AJK have signed a tobacco and nicotine-free campus charter and want the HEC to take it national. What it covers and what it does not. University vice chancellors, rectors and heads of institutions from Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir have signed a **Charter for Tobacco and Nicotine-Free Campuses**, committing to campuses that are 100% free of **smoking, vaping and nicotine pouches**, ProPakistani reported on Saturday 10 October. The charter was adopted at the fifth monthly meeting of the Vice Chancellors and Rectors Forum, hosted by COMSATS University Islamabad at its Islamabad campus. It is a voluntary pledge by the universities themselves, not a government notification, and the products are to be phased out gradually rather than banned overnight. The forum now wants the federal government to turn it into national policy. ## What the tobacco-free campus charter covers - **Products:** cigarettes, e-cigarettes and vapes, heated tobacco products and nicotine pouches (all tobacco and recreational nicotine products). - **Goal:** campuses 100% free of these products. - **How:** a gradual phase-out, with student-led awareness campaigns, research, monitoring systems and an annual progress assessment at each university. - **Next step:** the forum will send the signed charter with a joint letter to the **Prime Minister, through the Chairman of the Higher Education Commission (HEC)**, asking for nationwide measures. No HEC notification has been issued yet, so universities outside the forum are not bound by it, and the charter as reported does not set fines or a deadline. ## Which universities were at the meeting According to ProPakistani, more than 20 institutions took part, including Air University, Bahria University, FAST-National University, Fatima Jinnah Women University, Federal Urdu University, Health Services Academy, HITEC University, National Skills University, NUTECH, PIEAS, Virtual University of Pakistan, Alhamd Islamic University, Northern University, City University Islamabad and Islamabad Medical and Dental College, Iqra University, PAF-IAST, Preston University, SZABIST University, the Women University of Azad Jammu and Kashmir and IUCPSS Pakistan, along with host COMSATS. COMSATS Rector Prof Dr Raheel Qamar used the meeting to talk about university leaders' responsibility for social and technological challenges, including artificial intelligence and quantum computing. The forum also discussed the academic, regulatory and financial problems universities face. ## Why nicotine pouches are in the charter A rule that names only smoking would leave vapes, heated tobacco and pouches outside it. By listing every nicotine product, the charter covers the products that have spread among young people since older campus smoking rules were written. Some campuses have already moved on their own. The University of Sindh in Jamshoro banned the possession, promotion and sale of vapes, e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches on its premises in September 2025, under directions from the Sindh government and the Sindh Higher Education Commission, [APP reported](https://www.app.com.pk/?p=1061187) at the time. ## What it means for students If you study at one of these universities, expect awareness drives first and stricter rules on campus over the coming months; check your university's student affairs notices for the exact rules and penalties it adopts. If the HEC and the federal government take up the forum's request, the same standard could reach every campus in the country. COMSATS students working out their grades this semester can use our [COMSATS GPA calculator](/tools/education/comsats-gpa-calculator), and students elsewhere the [CGPA calculator](/tools/education/cgpa-calculator). ## Frequently asked questions **Are smoking and vaping banned in all Pakistani universities?** Not yet. As of 10 October 2026, universities in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, GB and AJK had signed a voluntary charter to phase out tobacco and nicotine products. They have asked the Prime Minister, through the HEC chairman, for a nationwide policy. **Which products does the tobacco and nicotine-free campus charter cover?** Cigarettes, e-cigarettes and vaping devices, heated tobacco products and nicotine pouches. ## Sources - Smoking, Vaping and Nicotine Pouches Banned in Pakistani Universities (10 Oct 2026) (ProPakistani): https://propakistani.pk/2026/10/10/smoking-vaping-and-nicotine-pouches-banned-in-pakistani-universities/ - Sindh University bans new tobacco products on campus (1 Sep 2025) (APP): https://www.app.com.pk/?p=1061187 How to cite: "Islamabad-area universities sign charter to phase out smoking, vaping and nicotine pouches", Searchable, 10 Oct 2026, https://searchable.pk/news/education/islamabad-area-universities-sign-charter-to-phase-out-smoking-vaping-and