How One Pakistani Entrepreneur is Changing Lives with Nicotine Pouches

ISLAMABAD — In the dust and grind of Pakistan’s booming construction industry, Shahmeer is not your typical harm reduction advocate. He’s a self-made businessman, a sports enthusiast, and a former smoker with a mission that quietly challenges Pakistan’s deeply rooted smoking culture – one pouch at a time.

For over a decade, cigarettes were part of Shahmeer’s daily rhythm. “I started smoking when I was 18,” he says, sitting in his office in Islamabad. “It was a regular thing – stress at work, meetings on construction sites, long hours. I’d sometimes finish an entire pack in a single day.”

But after ten years, the toll began to show. As someone who plays football, padel, and cricket, Shahmeer found himself winded, exhausted, and increasingly worried. “Even a jog would leave me breathless. I knew something had to change.”

What changed wasn’t a dramatic intervention. It was a simple, discreet product: the nicotine pouch.

Shahmeer’s first encounter with nicotine pouches came through a friend. “It felt strange at first – tingly, different,” he recalls. “But the convenience was unbeatable. No smell, no smoke, no stares. I could be in a meeting or at home without worrying about offending anyone.”

In a country where smoking is still widely prevalent – but socially taboo, especially around family – this was more than a lifestyle shift.

“Here in Pakistan, especially in families like mine, smoking is not openly discussed. My mother knew I smoked, but we never really talked about it. When I told her I had switched to pouches, she was relieved.”

He laughs softly, recalling how his mother first mistook the round tin in his pocket for chewing gum. “When I explained it’s just nicotine – without the toxins of cigarettes – she said, “Good. At least now you’re not hurting yourself.’”

More than a year smoke-free, Shahmeer says the difference is “like night and day.”

“Now, when I go for a jog or hit the gym, I don’t run out of breath. I feel strong again. I feel clean.”

He’s one of a growing number of Pakistani professionals quietly swapping cigarettes for pouches – not only for health reasons, but for economic ones.

In a country where millions live on tight budgets, the cost of smoking is often devastatingly high – not just in terms of health, but in pure cash flow.

“A pack of cigarettes used to cost me ₹650 – that’s about $2.33 USD,” Shahmeer explains. “One can of nicotine pouches? Just ₹180, or roughly $0.65.”

That’s a staggering 500 rupee (~$1.80 USD) daily difference – which adds up fast. In a single month, switching to pouches can save nearly ₹15,000, or more than $50 USD – a significant sum in Pakistan, where the average monthly income hovers around $300–$400 USD.

“And the pouch lasts longer,” he adds. “A cigarette pack would be gone in a day. The pouch can last two or more.”

As a small business owner, Shahmeer has taken his transformation further – introducing pouches to the laborers on his construction sites.

“I have electricians, painters, plumbers – most of them earn daily wages. They can’t afford premium cigarettes, so they smoke the really cheap ones – the ones with no filters, really harsh.”

Those cheap smokes are more than a health hazard – they’re an expense many can’t afford. So Shahmeer began sharing his own supply of pouches, educating his workers on how to use them.

“I told them: with a pouch, you can work and still get your nicotine. With a cigarette, you have to stop and take a break. That’s bad for productivity and worse for their lungs.”

Some workers were skeptical at first. But when they saw the benefits – financially and physically – they made the switch.

Shahmeer’s story is not an isolated case. It’s a glimpse into a grassroots transformation taking place across parts of the Global South, where affordability and access to safer alternatives could radically reduce smoking rates – if only they were supported.

“There’s no government push for this,” he notes. “People don’t know about pouches. If more people understood the health benefits, the financial savings – it could really make a difference.”

In Pakistan, where tobacco-related diseases cost the economy billions annually and where young adults often pick up smoking in college or early adulthood, harm reduction is not just a personal choice – it’s a public health opportunity.

And quietly, without a billboard or a press release, Shahmeer is helping others do the same.

“If someone like me can tell his family, explain to workers, and share this story – maybe more people will listen,” he says.

And perhaps most powerful of all, his mother – once adamantly against his smoking – now recommends pouches to other parents.

“She told her friend, “Your son smokes? Why don’t you tell him about these?” he says, smiling. “That’s how things change. One person, one conversation at a time.”

In a country where cultural expectations, financial limitations, and lack of public health education intersect, Shahmeer’s story stands as a powerful case study.

Nicotine pouches may not be a silver bullet – but in the hands (or pockets) of everyday people like him, they are tools of transformation.

“I don’t want others to spend ten years damaging their health like I did,” he says. “If I can help even one person switch, that’s enough for me.”

Pakistan may be far from the global spotlight in the harm reduction debate – but thanks to voices like Shahmeer’s, it’s not far behind in building a healthier future – brick by brick, and pouch by pouch.

Read more real stories from the frontlines of harm reduction at ConsideratePouchers.org