The Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) has been awarded the World Health Organization’s World No Tobacco Day Award 2026 in recognition of its evidence-based work to protect current and future generations from the harms of tobacco and nicotine products. The award, announced on May 19, places SDPI among a select group of global honourees and highlights the institute’s role in shaping tobacco control policy in Pakistan.
SDPI has provided strategic support to the federal government and worked closely with the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination and Pakistan’s Tobacco Control Cell, which were also recognised by WHO this year. The institute’s research team, including consultant Dr Waseem Iftikhar Janjua, has produced landmark studies on the economic costs of tobacco use, the impact of taxation on consumption, and the illicit tobacco trade that have informed policy debates in Islamabad and beyond.
SDPI’s work has focused on three critical policy areas: strengthening tobacco taxation to reduce affordability of tobacco products, protecting public health policies from industry interference, and countering the rapid spread of emerging nicotine products. These efforts have been supported by partnerships across the Eastern Mediterranean Region and the wider global tobacco control community, building a coalition that links national stakeholders with international expertise.
Pakistan continues to face a severe tobacco epidemic, with an estimated 31 million tobacco users and more than 160,000 tobacco-related deaths each year. The World No Tobacco Day Award 2026 underscores the urgent need for sustained, evidence-based interventions such as raising tobacco taxes, enforcing graphic health warnings and banning flavoured nicotine products to reduce harm and save lives.
As World No Tobacco Day is observed globally on May 31, the WHO recognition reinforces SDPI’s reputation as a policy-focused think tank whose research and advocacy have tangible public health impact in Pakistan and the region.
