Mirza Abeer

lawyer and CEO of ASAP

Compiled from 1 recorded interview. Every statement below is drawn from the passage cited beside it.

Mirza Abeer is a lawyer and the chief executive of ASAP, the Association for Smoking Alternatives in Pakistan. He says he is from Karachi. Abeer smoked for about 13 years, from age 15 until age 28, and says smoking alternatives are broadly safe.

Early life and background

Mirza Abeer says he is from Karachi. He started smoking at age 15, and says he did so because it made him look older. Abeer smoked for about 13 years, from age 15 until age 28, and says he was not yet ready to quit at one stage. He also says he went through his law exams. [1]

Career

Abeer is chief executive of ASAP, the Association for Smoking Alternatives in Pakistan. He says the organisation's current work is creating awareness, and that it uses digital platforms to reach people and start a dialogue about smoking alternatives. He says ASAP is in the process of registering as a non-profit under section 42 of the Companies Act. He says he plans to obtain more recent data in future. [1]

Abeer says he is part of a coalition of harm reduction advocates in the Asia Pacific region. He also says he is an admin of what he calls Pakistan's biggest vaping group. He says that a person created a group and invited him to it, and that he became its admin. [1]

Views

Abeer says smoking alternatives are broadly safe. He describes smoking as the burning of combustible tobacco, and says vaping gives off steam rather than smoke because nothing burns. He names e-cigarettes and pouches as the main smoking alternatives. He says cigarettes contain about 7,000 chemicals. [1]

He says the flavour is made from three ingredients. According to Abeer, more vegetable glycerin produces more vapour, while propylene glycol carries the flavour and gives a throat hit. He says 50 mg is for a heavy smoker and 25 mg for anything below that. [1]

Abeer says the FDA approved nicotine gum and patches. He says research shows nicotine is a stimulant like caffeine, that nicotine is not bad, and that it has been shown to help people with Tourette's syndrome. He says anything that gives off smoke is automatically treated as bad. [1]

Abeer says regulation is needed. He says products should not be sold to people under 18 and should come with childproof bottle caps. He says a child died after drinking a flavour bottle that looked appealing. [1]

He says making a product locally avoids import duty, and that importing something brings duty and taxes, which raises the expense. He also says people who cannot afford something should not be condemned for it and that access should be brought to them as well. [1]

Abeer says he relies on data and does not make the claims himself. He says the website of a tobacco control cell carries only data from 2017. He cites 2017 figures of about 1 crore 50 lakh smokers in Pakistan, roughly one in every eight to nine adults. He cites about 1,60,383 annual deaths from tobacco, though he is not certain of the figure. He says the CDC website names vitamin E acetate. [1]

Personal life

Abeer says he is asthmatic. He says he had a little money from wedding gifts after his marriage. He says he bought an electronic cigarette from a local shop, and that he disliked devices that looked like a cigarette because the tip glowed red. He says he has been off smoking for a very long time. [1]

Abeer says he generally uses the 12 mg strength. He says he builds his own coils and vapes them. He says his vaping costs about 100 to 120 rupees a day, including coils and replacement parts. He says he orders half-litre bottles, which last him about a year. He says he bought a device for 5,000 and that 5,000 in 2014 was a lot. He says that in those days flavours came from China. [1]

Timeline

2017
Year of the Pakistan smoker figures that Abeer cites[1]

Appearances

DateTitleWhere
2021-03-03 Mirza Abeer makes his case that vaping beats smoking Thought Behind Things

Frequently asked questions

Who is Mirza Abeer?

Mirza Abeer is a lawyer and the chief executive of ASAP, the Association for Smoking Alternatives in Pakistan. He says he is from Karachi.[1]

What does Mirza Abeer do?

Mirza Abeer is a lawyer and the CEO of ASAP. He says the organisation's current work is creating awareness. He says it uses digital platforms to reach people and start a dialogue about smoking alternatives.[1]

Where is Mirza Abeer from?

Mirza Abeer says he is from Karachi. He is a lawyer and the chief executive of ASAP, the Association for Smoking Alternatives in Pakistan.[1]

What is ASAP, the organisation Mirza Abeer leads?

ASAP is the Association for Smoking Alternatives in Pakistan, and Mirza Abeer is its CEO. He says it is in the process of registering as a non-profit under section 42 of the Companies Act. He says its current work is creating awareness.[1]

Did Mirza Abeer smoke?

Mirza Abeer started smoking at age 15 and smoked for about 13 years, until age 28. He says he started because it made him look older. He says he has been off smoking for a very long time.[1]

What does Mirza Abeer say about regulation?

Mirza Abeer says regulation is needed. He says products should not be sold to people under 18 and should come with childproof bottle caps.[1]

What does Mirza Abeer say about nicotine?

Mirza Abeer says research shows nicotine is a stimulant like caffeine, and that nicotine is not bad. He also says it has been shown to help people with Tourette's syndrome.[1]

References

  1. Mirza Abeer makes his case that vaping beats smoking . Thought Behind Things , 2021-03-03.
Show the source passages (51 statements)
  1. Mirza Abeer is CEO of ASAP, the Association for Smoking Alternatives in Pakistan. In conversation with Mirza Abeer, CEO at ASAP- Association for Smoking Alternatives in Pakistan
  2. Mirza Abeer is a lawyer. That's why I'm a lawyer.
  3. Mirza Abeer says he is from Karachi. ab main Karachi wala hoon toh Karachi ki woh use karunga
  4. Mirza Abeer started smoking at age 15. I started smoking when I was 15
  5. Mirza Abeer says he is asthmatic. uske baad asthmatic hoon main
  6. Mirza Abeer says he started smoking because it made him look older. It's a decision I made for myself because it makes you look older and everything
  7. Mirza Abeer smoked for about 13 years, from age 15 until age 28. 20, 13 years, 13 years. Basically because it was when I was 15 and I left when I was 28.
  8. Mirza Abeer says he was not yet ready to quit at that point. Abhi bhi main quit karne ke liye ready nahi tha
  9. Mirza Abeer says cigarettes contain about 7,000 chemicals. cigarette ke andar 7,000 chemicals hote hain
  10. Mirza Abeer says he had a little money from wedding gifts after his marriage. mera nikah hua tha toh salami ke thode se paise pade hue the
  11. Mirza Abeer says he bought an electronic cigarette from a local shop. I went and I got a, ek cigarette maine le li, electronic cigarette local shop pe
  12. Mirza Abeer says he disliked devices that looked like a cigarette because the tip glowed red. They look like a cigarette and I hated the fact ki aage se laal jal
  13. Mirza Abeer says he went through his law exams. I went through my law exams through that, using that.
  14. Mirza Abeer says he has been off smoking for a very long time. I've been off of smoking for a very, very long time now.
  15. Mirza Abeer says ASAP's current work is creating awareness. what we are doing right now is creating awareness
  16. Mirza Abeer says ASAP uses digital platforms to reach people and start a dialogue about smoking alternatives. we are using digital platforms ke hum logon ko reach out karein aur bolein ke ji, do you know that there are smoking alternatives? Basically, create a dialogue.
  17. Mirza Abeer says ASAP is in the process of registering as a non-profit under section 42 of the Companies Act. register ho rahe hain as a non-profit organization section 42 ke andar of the Companies Act
  18. Mirza Abeer says he is part of a coalition of harm reduction advocates in the Asia Pacific region. I am a part of CAPHRA, which is the Coalition of Asia Pacific Harm Reduction Advocates
  19. Mirza Abeer says he is an admin of what he calls Pakistan's biggest vaping group. I'm also the admin of Pakistan's biggest vaping group, Pakistan Vaping Community and Association
  20. Mirza Abeer says a person created a group and invited him to it, and that he became its admin. usi ek bande ne ek group banaya hai and mujhe invite bheja hai and I became the admin
  21. Mirza Abeer says he plans to obtain more recent data in future. I do plan ki future mein hum actually more recent data nikalein
  22. Mirza Abeer says smoking alternatives are broadly safe. broadly yeh safe smoking alternatives hain
  23. Mirza Abeer says vaping gives off steam, not smoke, because nothing burns. Kya cheez jal rahi hai? Dhuan nahi hai, bhaap hai.
  24. Mirza Abeer says smoking means burning combustible tobacco. Toh combustible tobacco hum isko bolte hain smoking
  25. Mirza Abeer says the main smoking alternatives are e-cigarettes and pouches. hamare paas broadly aate hain do, electronic cigarettes and then you have pouches basically
  26. Mirza Abeer says the flavour is made from three ingredients. It's basically aapka flavor jo hai woh teen cheezon se banta hai
  27. Mirza Abeer says more vegetable glycerin produces more vapour. Vegetable glycerin jitna zyada dalenge utna vapor hoga
  28. Mirza Abeer says propylene glycol carries the flavour and gives a throat hit. PG jo hota hai that carries the flavor and woh throat hit bhi deta hai
  29. Mirza Abeer says 50 mg is for a heavy smoker and 25 mg for anything below that. 50 mg for a hardcore smoker and 25 mg for anything in below that
  30. Mirza Abeer says he generally uses the 12 mg strength. I generally like using the 12 mg one
  31. Mirza Abeer says the FDA approved nicotine gum and patches. Shuru mein we only had nicotine gum Right. and patches, jo ki FDA ne approve kara hai
  32. Mirza Abeer says research shows nicotine is a stimulant like caffeine. Nicotine ki research yeh bhi nikli hai ke nicotine is a stimulant like caffeine
  33. Mirza Abeer says nicotine is not bad. Toh nicotine is not bad.
  34. Mirza Abeer says nicotine has been shown to help people with Tourette's syndrome. To Tourette syndrome ke log ko, it has been shown to help people with Tourette's jo uncontrollable tics hote hain
  35. Mirza Abeer says anything that gives off smoke is automatically treated as bad. Koi bhi cheez jo dhuan nikalti hai na, automatically bad
  36. Mirza Abeer says regulation is needed. Yahan pe regulation chahiye.
  37. Mirza Abeer says products should not be sold to people under 18 and should come with childproof bottle caps. Under 18 ko nahi bechna, flavors ke itne jo nahi, it should be safety, childproof bottle cap honi chahiye
  38. Mirza Abeer says a child died after drinking a flavour bottle that looked appealing. where a child died from drinking a flavor ki bottle because it looked appealing
  39. Mirza Abeer says making a product locally avoids import duty. ya toh aap isko locally banayein ke aap import duty se bachein
  40. Mirza Abeer says that importing something brings duty and taxes, which raises the expense. Ab when whenever you import something, duty taxes padte hain aapki yahan pe. Uski wajah se aapki expense badh jata hai.
  41. Mirza Abeer says people who cannot afford something should not be condemned for it and that access should be brought to them as well. Ab just because woh afford nahi kar sakte, unko condemn kara jaye? Unki taraf bhi access lekar aana hai.
  42. Mirza Abeer says he relies on data and does not make the claims himself. Main to data use kar raha hoon, I am not saying anything myself
  43. Mirza Abeer says the website of a tobacco control cell carries only data from 2017. Tobacco Control Cell ki website pe jaake dekha and sirf 2017 ka data pada hua hai
  44. Mirza Abeer cites 2017 figures of about 1 crore 50 lakh smokers in Pakistan, roughly one in every eight to nine adults. According to that, 15.7 million, 6 million smokers Pakistan mein 2017 mein the. And 15.6 million. 1 crore 50 lakh, that means roughly one in every eight to nine adults.
  45. Mirza Abeer cites about 1,60,383 annual deaths from tobacco, though he is not certain of the figure. Annual deaths from smoking ya from tobacco tha actually. It was like 1,60,383, I think I remember the right figure.
  46. Mirza Abeer says the CDC website names vitamin E acetate. CDC ki website pe bhi hai ke yaar, haan, it is vitamin E acetate
  47. Mirza Abeer says he builds his own coils and vapes them. Main khud isi coil banata hoon, isko peeta hoon
  48. Mirza Abeer says his vaping costs about 100 to 120 rupees a day, including coils and replacement parts. total everything included um you know coil, shoil, sara yeh jo uska hai uh you know replacement hai, woh mila ke mujhe roughly 100 to 120 rupees per day banta hai
  49. Mirza Abeer says he orders half-litre bottles, which last him about a year. I get it like aadha liter ki botal mangwata hoon, saal nikal lete hain
  50. Mirza Abeer says he bought a device for 5,000 and that 5,000 in 2014 was a lot. Woh device maine 5,000 ki li thi and 2014 ka 5,000 was a lot
  51. Mirza Abeer says that in those days flavours came from China. us zamane mein flavors humein aate the China se