‘Tobacco taxation should be seen as public health policy’

Islamabad : Dr Abid Qaiyum Suleri, Executive Director, Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) has said that tobacco control knowledge hub will serve as a centralised platform for collaboration, coordination, advocacy and evidence-based discussion.

Dr Suleri was speaking at a seminar on “Tobacco taxation” organised here by SDPI followed by soft launch of Pakistan’s first-ever "Tobacco Control Knowledge Hub."

The SDPI chief said that the hub will fill the existing information gap by providing research-backed analysis, data projection and trend monitoring under one platform. He highlighted that every recommendation presented to the Ministry of Finance increases the chances of policy reforms at the highest decision-making levels. SDPI and its partner organisations should continue to work extensively on tobacco control and the hub is a significant milestone in this endeavour.

Dr Jadambaa Narantuya, Cluster Lead Disease Control, WHO Country Office, said over 800,000 deaths annually occurred due to non-communicable diseases (NCDs). She reaffirmed WHO’s commitment to tobacco control policies and announced an investment case study to advocate for reduced tobacco consumption.

She reiterated that the Tobacco Knowledge Hub will serve as a comprehensive database and collaborative platform to advance policy discussions, train stakeholders on best practices in tobacco taxation and monitor advocacy efforts. By documenting the impact of tobacco taxation on health and economic costs, the hub will strengthen efforts to reduce the burden of tobacco-related diseases in Pakistan and globally, she added.

Asif Iqbal, Managing Director, SPDC, provided insights into Pakistan’s highly concentrated tobacco market where the top 15 brands account for 80% of sales, and five major companies control 72% of the market share. Illicit trade remains a significant challenge, with 21.3% of the market comprising locally produced untaxed cigarettes, while smuggled cigarettes account for an additional 11.9%, totaling 33% illicit trade, he added.

Dr. Waseem Iftikhar Janjua from SDPI highlighted that Pakistan is joining a global network of nine knowledge-hubs operating in India, Australia, South Africa and other countries. He stressed the urgent need for a policy discussion platform to generate, collect, and share evidence on tobacco control, particularly in Pakistan and the broader Mediterranean region including the Middle East and North Africa.

Presenting the analysis of Pakistan’s track and trace system, he emphasised that Pakistan, as a signatory to FCTC must ensure that the system remains under government control, preventing any industry-led manipulation. He warned that allowing tobacco industry to implement self-monitored systems would facilitate tax evasion and illicit trade.

Dr Sajid Amin Javed, Deputy Executive Director, SDPI, highlighted that while the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) is considering reducing taxes on tobacco, health experts and think tanks advocate for increased taxation. He stressed that tobacco taxation should be seen as a public health policy, not a revenue-generation tool. He called upon the FBR to formally document tobacco taxation as a tobacco control strategy, implement unified taxation across all tobacco products and recognise that higher taxation effectively encourages people to quit smoking.

Dr Matiur Rehman, Head of Tobacco Control at the National Health Services Academy, pointed out that Pakistan, as a tobacco-producing country, needs a comprehensive strategy to support farmers in reducing tobacco cultivation. He emphasised the lack of coordination among ministries with one ministry promoting tobacco production while others tax it.

Syed Ali Wasif Naqvi, Head of the Centre for Health Policy and Innovation, made a demonstration as how this Tobacco Knowledge Hub would function, showcasing its capabilities as a repository of research, policy recommendations and capacity-building resources for policymakers, researchers, civil society and masses.