War against Naswar

[Abisafyan]

War against Naswar

I will be the first to support Mr. Iftikhar, KPK Minister resolutely in his War against the dirt of Naswar. Some khwar (poors) consider Naswar as something very sacred to Pakhtoon or Pakhtoon culture which is totally absurd and is just ignorance. Since some of the jamateez are also naswar-addicted none among them has therefore ever heard of saying against the muck of naswar.

[Shehbaz Khan]

They say they have banned Sheesha and Ghutka in Karachi.. Do you think it is banned? Unless and until social awareness is there and you tell people and convince them with logic about it's side effects nothing can happen.

Why don't they stop issuing the licensees for the sale of Alcohol. Even in Mian Iftikhar Hussain's own village/town Pabbi just beside the hospital (Which now he named as Mian Rashid Hussain Hospital) in a building known as 'Karachi Market' right in the second shop Alcohol is sold openly every one knows it !! Why is he not doing something about that?

[Abisafyan]

They say they have banned Sheesha and Ghutka in Karachi.. Do you think it is banned? Unless and until social awareness is there and you tell people and convince them with logic about it's side effects nothing can happen.

Why don't they stop issuing the licensees for the sale of Alcohol. Even in Mian Iftikhar Hussain's own village/town Pabbi just beside the hospital (Which now he named as Mian Rashid Hussain Hospital) in a building known as 'Karachi Market' right in the second shop Alcohol is sold openly every one knows it !! Why is he not doing something about that?

You are right but if alcoholic becomes the victim of alcohol, they are mostly well to do people and so can cope with the consequences but conversely if a naswari becomes the victim, they are mostly poor & labour class people who can’t cope with the implications and so their whole dependents become the victims!!!

[Abisafyan]

In 1561 Jean Nicot, the Frenchambassador in Lisbon, Portugal, sent snuff to Catherine de' Medici to treat her son's persistent migraines.

McKenna, T.: Food of the Gods - The Search for the Original Tree of Knowledge - A Radical History of Plants, Drugs, and Human Evolution, Bantam Books, 1993, page 199.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snuff

[emkhan]

They say they have banned Sheesha and Ghutka in Karachi.. Do you think it is banned? Unless and until social awareness is there and you tell people and convince them with logic about it's side effects nothing can happen.

Why don't they stop issuing the licensees for the sale of Alcohol. Even in Mian Iftikhar Hussain's own village/town Pabbi just beside the hospital (Which now he named as Mian Rashid Hussain Hospital) in a building known as 'Karachi Market' right in the second shop Alcohol is sold openly every one knows it !! Why is he not doing something about that?

Come on guy, alcohol is anp's favourite drink. How can they ban it?
As far as naswaar is concerned it is not now only limited to pashtuns. I know a huge number of punjabis also enjoying these black round bullets. I think it is not a big issue. They should stop other worst things that are prevailing in our society.

[Shehbaz Khan]

You are right but if alcoholic becomes the victim of alcohol, they are mostly well to do people and so can cope with the consequences but conversely if a naswari becomes the victim, they are mostly poor & labour class people who can’t cope with the implications and so their whole dependents become the victims!!!

I won't agree in this case .. This Desi Sharab we use to call it Spirit :D is too cheap and most of the people are not rich having it .. And from Mian Iftikhar's own village it is transferred to the consecutive villages of Dagai, Mohib Banda, Chowki, Khudrezi etc etc ..

[torkham]

i hate pon. it is a leaf with some red powder.

naswar has character.

the disgusting spitting is lack of style of naswari. the naswar stains all over the floor and walls is because that naswari has personal hygiene of dirty khok.

[Alchemist]

Well...

you learn something new everyday...

i didn't know naswar was tobacco

[faye]

wars against drugs, just do not work, except for benefitting the sellers. it just becomes more expensive and people keep using them. also lots of people end up with criminal records for minor offences.

[retro]

Well...

you learn something new everyday...

i didn't know naswar was tobacco

Yes it's nasty stuff that burns your mouth. The Norwegians also use Naswar and it is called Snus in Europe.

[Shamaar]

I doubt Naswar is going anywhere for a long while yet. It's the only kind of tobacco that is available in our areas for a very low cost.

It is, unfortunately, one of the many things that comes from our areas being poor.

[faye]

do they have beedies in pakistan?

[Shamaar]

do they have beedies in pakistan?

The only beedies I've ever smoked were from India. I don't think they're that popular in Pakistan. Of course, that doesn't mean they don't have them... My fancy way of saying I don't know lol.

[faye]

i remember them from india, too.

[az4er]

It won't change the level of consumption, the only thing it'll do is waste what are already meager government resources on a pointless endeavor. The War on Drugs didn't work in the US, what makes anyone think it'll work in Pakhtunkhwa?

If he wants to deal with it so bad, then why doesn't he go confront the Khans in Mardan, Charsadda and Nowshera, (many of whom are members of his party) who grow tobacco on their agricultural property? Fact is, he can't, because tobacco is one of pakistan's major exports and is heavily subsidized by the federal government (PTB and PTC).

While seemingly well-intentioned, its looks, to me like an ingenious way to make money off a product that enjoys such high demand.

By banning naswar, he essentially curtails the subsidies distributed to tobacco farmers, which drastically reduces their revenue and spending power. And since black market products tend to be more expensive, the wealthy landowners and tobacco farmers in the ANP end up making a tidy profit off it at the expense of the lower-income farmers.

The only way you can get rid of naswar is,first, cut government subsidies towards it. Second, make it mainstream and tax it. And finally that'll force people to plant edible crops instead of tobacco on agricultural property. Use what's left of the tobacco subsidy in helping make the transition easier for low-income farmers.