Legislation on selling open cigarettes rejected

Islamabad: All Pakistan Cigarette, Pan and beverages Retailers Association, while rejecting expected legislation banning on selling open cigarettes, demanding Prime Minister of Pakistan for inclusion of the association in the consultation process, otherwise any such law would not be acceptable.

This was said by the president of All Pakistan Cigarette, Pan and Beverages Retailers Association Haji Mobin and other office bearers during a conference in National Press Club here on Monday.

He said “All Pakistan Cigarette, Pan and Beverages Retailers Association is the representative body of 700,000 people working on different shops across the country and conferring their input in country’s economy and providing financial support to around 3,000,000 people.”

Haji Mobin said adding that any law snatching bread and butter from these workers would be injustice and would not be acceptable at all. Haji Mobeen further said that they had got the information, Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination was going to impose ban on selling open cigarettes after an expected legislation. It is default rule that before taking place any legislation, all stakeholders are involved in consultation process; however they are supposed to utter such information with regret and remorse that the legislators and decision makers were not taking them on board.

He expressed that the association had informed health and commerce ministries and standing committee on commerce time and again about the reservations but they didn’t bother to heed. He added that many customers were used to purchase open cigarettes for years which has tangible and genuine reasons, as the customer can be too poor to buy a packet consisting of 20 cigarettes or may wanted to get rid of the habit, for that purpose intending to purchase just one or declining number of cigarettes. The way government of Pakistan was trying to impose ban on cigarettes would not prove fruitful but would become cause of increasing the smoking in the society.

He said that hundreds of thousands of shopkeepers are involved in the business and it definitely would be impossible to make the law implemented in every nook and corner of the country. He said that the expected legislation would affect tax system, as customers would prefer to acquire cigarettes with low tax rated cigarettes.

He also said that keeping all the demerits of the ban, the association would like to give practical suggestions to the government. So they request Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi to listen the stance of the association and include them in the consultation process. He further added that they don’t believe in protests and they want that concerned decision makers should also listen their stance and then move forward after consultation.