ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is in the dire need of a comprehensive change in its taxation and planning policies to curtail the growing use of tobacco, especially among youth, as cigarettes prices in the country remain the lowest in the region.
This is revealed in a new research study, "Health Implications of Smoking in Pakistan", published by the Center for Global and Strategic Studies - a public policy institute and think-tank in Islamabad.
The study said that Pakistan is facing crucial healthcare and financial issues due to the increasing trend of smoking cigarettes in the youth and poor implementation of the relevant laws and the policies. It has suggested the government to closely monitor the situation to ensure that the influence of multinational tobacco industry does not have any effect on the policies being implemented by legislative institutes.
Pakistan is included in the 15 states of the world bearing the worst impacts of smoking related health problems, according to the study. The data shows that 22 million Pakistanis consume the tobacco related products daily, causing deaths of 160,100 individuals annually, it said. The study revealed that Pakistan is signatory to the World Health Organization (WHO) to take effective measures to reduce the demand of cigarettes by applying tools of price and taxes. The WHO has recommended taxes up to 75 percent of the retail price of tobacco products to discourage its use.
However, the situation does not look good for Pakistan with a score of 0.88 out of 5 on cigarettes scorecard.
The huge influence of tobacco industry over legislative bodies is a major factor behind the delay in imposition of the tax levy, the study said, adding that the low taxes were also contributing to growing use of the tobacco products in the country. The study also revealed that although the majority of tobacco consumers are present in low and middle level economies, yet around 60 percent of the population consuming cigarettes daily reside in Asia.
The study concluded that Pakistan was losing at least Rs55 billion in annual revenue for not implementing the federal cabinet's May 2019 decision of imposing a tax levy on the cigarettes. The cabinet had recommended an additional tax of Rs10 on each cigarette pack of 20 sticks.
Sharing his comments on the study, Malik Imran Ahmed, country head of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, said the government should use the pricing and taxation mechanism to discourage smoking and overcome the related diseases. He added the government can earn at least Rs40 billion in additional revenue by imposing the health levy on tobacco products.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021