Zubair Qureshi
Tobacco control activists, public health experts, professionals and members of civil society have recommended to the new government headed by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to increase FED on Tobacco Products by 30pc to generate additional revenue.
That revenue can be used for the well-being of people since the budget is a crucial challenge for the government.
Addressing a session with the journalists organized by the Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (SPARC) they discussed the opportunity for the new government to generate revenue by increasing tobacco taxes.
Speaking to participants, Dr Ziauddin Islam, former technical head Tobacco Control Cell (TCC), Ministry of Health said that the tobacco industry misguides government over illicit trade. According to Tobacco Industry data in January 2021 illegal cigarette costs 40 billion to the economy, and in February 2021 they quoted 77 billion without any justification, whereas according to an Independent Report illicit cigarette market is only 10-15%, he said.
He further added that tobacco use has direct and indirect effects on children’s health. Daily 1200 children initiate smoking. Increasing tobacco taxes will bring this number down. Raising taxation on tobacco is the most suitable measure of reducing tobacco use and associated health risks, especially among low-income populations.
Shariq Mahmood Khan, CEO of Chromatic Trust, said that the tobacco hazard can be controlled by increasing taxes as children are more price-sensitive and creating awareness. Recently tobacco and related industries have increasingly preyed on children and adolescents, engaging in advertising tactics like sponsorships and influencer marketing to target them directly that threaten their health.
He appealed to the new gov to raise awareness and help the directorate of health to implement tobacco control laws and increase tobacco taxes to reduce consumption and generate additional income.
Khalil Ahmed Dogar, Programme Manager SPARC told the media that Tobacco taxes were the most cost-effective tobacco control measure.
The use of tobacco causes annual an economic burden of 615 billion which is 1.6% of Pakistan’s GDP. Which leads to significant negative externalities, including high healthcare costs and lost productivity due to tobacco-attributable diseases contrary the revenue generated from the tobacco industry is 120 billion in 2019 is approximately just 20 percent of smoking’s total cost.
He stressed that the health and economic costs of tobacco use are more than five times the tax receipts, even though the tobacco industry is a major taxpayer in absolute terms, the tax contribution of the tobacco industry is a small fraction of what tobacco consumption costs the government and society.
