Activists condemn govt’s retrogressive tobacco policies

Islamabad

Criticising the government for lowering the prices of cigarette to those of counterfeit brands in the proposed budget, tobacco control advocates Tuesday expressed fears that the measure will only increase the number of child smokers in Pakistan.

On the eve of World No Tobacco Day, the civil society organised a picket in front of the National Press Club, demanding of the government to withdraw the proposal for introduction of third tier in tobacco taxation, which will allow the international tobacco industry to introduce cheaper cigarettes that are easily accessible to children.

In the proposed budget, the finance ministry has reduced Federal Excise Duty (FED) on a pack of 20 cigarettes from Rs32.98 to Rs16 by introducing third tier. There is almost no change in the FED on upper slab.

Nadeem Iqbal, CEO of TheNetwork for Consumer Protection said, the government has taken us five years back. As in the proposed finance bill, Pakistan has revised its tobacco excise tax system in 2017-18, again moving from a two-tiered to a three-tiered system. Previously, it was modified in 2013 moving from three-tiered, mixed, ad valorem plus specific taxes, to a two-tiered specific tax for cigarettes.

“Something is terribly wrong among the ministries of Finance, Commerce and Health. While the first two are in support of the tobacco industry for their own reasons, the health ministry, whose in-charge minister is the Prime Minister himself, has recommended a raise in tobacco taxes—a recommendation that has been totally ignored by the Finance Ministry and FBR,” lamented Nadeem. 

In its recommendation sent to the Finance Ministry two weeks ago, the Minister of State for Health Saira Afzal had asked for an increase in the FED on lower slab of all brands of cigarettes from the current Rs32.98 to Rs44 per pack of 20 cigarettes.

But this is not the only failure of the Ministry of Health, said Khurram Hashmi, National Coordinator of the Coalition for Tobacco Control Pakistan (CTC-Pak). “The people of Pakistan are still waiting for the government to fulfill its two year-old commitment to implement 85% enhanced Graphical Health Warning (GHW) on cigarette packs.”

“More than 555,000 children continue to use tobacco each day. Youth is considered as the future of a nation, and this means that our future is at stake,” Khurram added.

Civil society activists at the picket were critical of the government’s retrogressive measure to endanger the lives of the people, saying that these will damage Pakistan’s efforts to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) targets especially SDGs goal 3a, “Strengthen the implementation of FCTC in all countries.” Pakistan is signatory to the World Health Organisation’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) which calls in its article 6 for “Price and Tax Measures to Reduce the Demand for Tobacco” by raising FED to at least 75%.

This World No Tobacco Day, it’s time to put a stop to the global tobacco epidemic. Countries must raise tobacco taxes and implement the proven measures mandated by the FCTC to help achieve their sustainable development goals and protect future generations. Without urgent action, tobacco use will claim one billion lives this century, the activists stated.