No tobacco

Pakistanis have the distinction of smoking over 65 billion cigarettes in a year. Over 100,000 Pakistanis die as a result of this poisonous entertainment and many more suffer from other diseases. To further enhance these statistics, Pakistan has generously dropped, in its latest budget, duties on the most smoked, third tier cigarettes from Rs32.96 to Rs16 per pack. This will certainly and drastically raise the number of smokers, number of deaths and the amount of profits made by tobacco companies.

Pakistan is a signatory to the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) which, in its Article 6, calls for price and tax measures to reduce the demand for tobacco by raising the FED by at least 75 per cent. Ironically, instead of raising the tax from Rs32.96 to Rs57.68, it was dropped to Rs16 per pack. The regulations also require that cigarette packs ought to carry pictorial and text warning on 85 percent space of the packs. However, the government continues to postpone the implementation of this law.

Naeem Sadiq

Islamabad