Alternative Research Initiative

The Alternative Research Initiative (ARI) is a research organisation, based in Islamabad, Pakistan. It was founded in 2017 and describes itself as focused on “providing researched-based solutions in a variety of social fields, including health, education, governance, culture, etc”.¹²

Links to the tobacco industry

Funded by Global Action to End Smoking/Foundation for a Smoke-free World

The organisation has received funding on several occasions from Global Action to End Smoking (GAES), formerly the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World (FSFW), which was solely funded by Philip Morris International (PMI) under a multi-year pledge (2018-23).³ GAES continues to operate on the remaining PMI funds and the returns on investments made with those funds. For more information, see Global Action to End Smoking.

ARI has received multiple grants from GAES/FSFW. Between 2018 and 2024, it received more than US$1.4 million in grants.^45678910

In 2018, ARI received US$285,200 for “mapping the status of harm reduction products framework in Pakistan” and to conduct a study on smoking cessation and harm reduction products in marginalized communities.⁶ In 2019, it received US$123,420 to “conduct a knowledge, attitudes and practices survey evaluating the use of harm reduction products (HRPs), mainly e-cigarettes, in 11 urban districts of Pakistan” and to “conduct a qualitative survey barriers to smoking cessation in marginalized areas of Islamabad, and assess the possible use of e-cigarettes in these areas”.⁶

During 2020, ARI received two grants worth US$340,960: one to “study on barriers to smoking cessation and reduced risk products in marginalized communities in Pakistan”; the other to “Garner consensus and support for COP9 to consider harm reduction as integral to tobacco control”.⁶ This last grant is one of fifteen grants awarded in 2020 by FSFW that focused on influencing the Conference of Parties to the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC).⁶ ARI received a further US$193,760 for the same purpose in 2021.¹¹ In 2022 ARI received US$259,981 to “Support capacity of PANTHR (Pakistan Alliance for Nicotine and Tobacco Harm Reduction) to increase access to tools that support cessation and tobacco harm reduction in Pakistan, including engaging with health professionals to reduce impediments to access”.¹² In 2023, ARI received US$298,049 from GAES to “Address misinformation and disinformation on Safer Nicotine Delivery Systems (SNDs), nicotine use and tobacco harm reduction (THR) in Pakistan”.

A new grant approved in August 2024 (running until February 2026) focuses on “raising awareness of comprehensive smoking‑cessation services and correcting misinformation about nicotine across Pakistan.”¹⁰¹³

Pakistan Alliance for Nicotine and Tobacco Harm Reduction (PANTHR)

The Pakistan Alliance for Nicotine and Tobacco Harm Reduction (PANTHR) is a project of the Alternative Research Initiative (ARI), with the stated aim of promoting solutions for smoking cessation in Pakistan and the Eastern Mediterranean region.¹⁴ The organisation’s purpose is stated as follows:

“The alliance serves as a platform for advocating and promoting all innovative solutions for ending smoking whether counselling, NRTs, or harm reduction”.¹⁵

For more information, go to Pakistan Alliance for Nicotine and Tobacco Harm Reduction (PANTHR)

Relevant Link

Alternative Research Initiative website

Tobacco Tactics Resources

Global Action to End Smoking (GAES)

Foundation for a Smoke-Free World (FSFW)

Philip Morris International

Pakistan Alliance for Nicotine and Tobacco Harm Reduction (PANTHR)

Pakistan Country Profile