Over half of cigarette brands illegal

PESHAWAR: More than half of the cigarette brands being sold across the country are illegal and non-compliant with national regulations, revealed a study conducted by Institute for Public Opinion Research (IPOR), which was unveiled at an event here on Wednesday.

Executive Director IPOR Tariq Junaid made the report public at the Peshawar Press Club.Speaking on the occasion, he highlighted the widespread availability of smuggled and untaxed cigarettes in both urban and rural markets across the country.

Based on a survey of 1,520 retail outlets in 19 districts, the study identified 413 different cigarette brands being sold nationwide. “Shockingly, only 19 of these brands were fully compliant with the country’s Track and Trace System (TTS) and Graphical Health Warnings (GHWs) regulations. The remaining majority-over 54 percent-failed to meet one or both of these legal requirements”, he said.

“Despite clear regulations introduced as early as 2009 for Graphical Health Warnings and the 2022 rollout of the Track and Trace System, compliance remains severely low,” Junaid said, which, he added, pointed to an urgent need for enforcement.

The report found that 45 percent of the non-compliant brands were smuggled into the country, while 55 percent were produced locally without the payment of taxes.In a further blow to regulation, 332 of the identified brands were being sold below the legal minimum retail price of Rs162.25, with some available for as little as Rs40 per pack.

“This undercutting not only violates pricing laws but also leads to massive tax evasion and significant revenue loss for the government”, he said.Enforcement gaps are especially severe in rural areas, where non-compliance was found to be as high as 58 percent, compared to 49 percent in urban locations. He stressed the need for targeted crackdowns and enhanced monitoring, particularly outside major cities.

“There appears to be a complete lack of fear among shopkeepers when it comes to selling illicit cigarettes. We request the government to implement strict point-of-sale checks and take enforcement actions to curb illegal trade,” he maintained.

He urged authorities to prioritize the enforcement of existing tobacco control laws, warning that continued inaction would only deepen the crisis. The report called for immediate steps to recover critical national revenue lost to the illicit cigarette trade and to restore fairness for legal businesses operating under the law.