Islamabad: On the occasion of World No Tobacco Day (May 31), Pakistan announced health tax on cigarette to cut rising tobacco consumption that kills nearly 160,000 Pakistanis every year. The Ministry of National Health Services (NHS) Regulation and Coordination recommended the measure to discourage cigarette smoking, increase revenues and save money by cutting tobacco-related health care costs.
Health tax of Rs10 (Dh0.25) per pack of 20 cigarette sticks and 1 per cent tax on all beverages (Rs1 on 250ml) has been proposed by NHS Ministry along with an increase in Federal Excise Duty on cigarettes in the upcoming budget. Prime Minister Imran Khan has also approved the new tax and announced to end the tax-free cigarette facility for the prime minister, chief ministers and governors of all provinces to control the use of tobacco.
Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on NHS Dr Zafar Mirza said the government was “firmly committed to its anti-tobacco policy based on Pakistan’s obligations under the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC).”
Shocking figures
Tobacco is one of the biggest killers in the country causing around 160,189 deaths yearly. In Pakistan, almost 15.6 million adults currently smoke tobacco whereas around 1,200 children between age of six and 15 start smoking every day, he revealed. Besides health risks, the economic burden of smoking amounts to Rs143.208 billion including direct costs related to health care expenses and indirect costs on lost productivity and early mortality. Now the tax revenue would be spent on public health benefits, reducing the health and economic burden, Dr Mirza shared.
“Health is a very high priority for the prime minister and significant efforts have been made for tobacco control in Pakistan like banning sale of cigarettes in loose form, notifying 60 per cent size pictorial health warning on cigarette packs and banning import of sheesha” to save people from deadly tobacco products, he said.
In Pakistan, it is illegal to advertise tobacco or tobacco products in print, electronic and outdoor media, or by depicting images of humans or animals, or posters and banners fixed outside shops or kiosks.
One death every 4 seconds
Every year, tobacco kills at least 8 million people around the world plus an additional million people who do not smoke themselves but are killed by second-hand smoke. On World No Tobacco Day, the World Health Organisation (WHO) emphasised that over 40 per cent of all tobacco-related deaths are from lung diseases like cancer, chronic respiratory diseases and tuberculosis either as a result of active or second-hand smoke.
“Stop tobacco from taking your breath away. Tobacco kills one person every 4 seconds. Do not be that person and do not contribute to the death toll,” said Dr Palitha Mahipal, WHO Head of Pakistan.
Recently, a high level WHO mission on tobacco taxation held detailed discussions with the Pakistan’s Federal Bureau of Revenue on elimination of the third-tier and enhanced tobacco taxation. “We have high hopes that the Prime Minister Imran Khan and health minister will leave no stone unturned to protect the health of the people,” Dr Mahipal said.
To reduce tobacco use, WHO advocates strict tobacco control laws, large-sized pictorial health warning on packs and plain packaging, comprehensive ban on tobacco advertising promotion and sponsorship, implementation of “health tax” on tobacco products and increased taxation as well as continued health awareness campaigns.
