ISLAMABAD - Cigarette consumption is continuous increasing in developing countries especially Pakistan which has also incurred billions in losses, both in terms of revenue and increased health costs.
Pakistan is one of the top tobacco-consuming countries standing at the 7th position globally and first in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) in terms of the number of tobacco product users.
According to estimates, more than 60 billion sticks of cigarettes are produced in the country every year, however when it comes to revenue the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) data shows a negative picture during the last seven years.
The total loss, estimated by a number of research studies including one by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), has been estimated at Rs567 billion during the last seven years.
The WHO emphasizes to ensure tobacco tax policies for effective development, implementation, and enforcement of public health initiatives. However, it did not happen in Pakistan.
The study also highlighted how high and middle-income countries have successfully imposed high taxes on cigarette products to decrease consumption and increase government revenues, but the fact remains that Pakistan still lacks a clear strategy on using cigarette taxation and prices as a public health tool.
Pakistan has signed the Framework Convention for Tobacco Control (FCTC), the multilateral treaty initiated by WHO in 2004 to curb smoking.
World Bank has also revealed, in a report titled ‘Pakistan: Overview of Tobacco Use, Tobacco Control Legislation, and Taxation,’ that the decline in government revenue in the 2016-2017 fiscal year was carefully planned by the powerful cigarette industry.
According to details, the cigarette industry convinced the government to introduce third-tier (for taxation) in order to curb illicit trade.
When it comes to burden on the health sector, the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) provides insight into the overall costs linked to smoking-related diseases and deaths in Pakistan for the year 2019.
The analysis points to an additional financial burden of Rs615.07 billion ($3.85 billion), with indirect costs such as morbidity and mortality constituting a significant 70% of the total expenses.
This highlights the pressing need to reassess the industry’s sway on national policies, emphasising the importance of balancing public health and economic stability.
