ISLAMABAD  -    Speakers on Thursday stressed the government to frame a solid policy on tobacco taxation and implement recommendations of Senate standing committee for eliminating third slab on cigarettes.

Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (SPARC) organized a pre-budget session with media on Senate committee recommendations to increase tobacco tax.

Activists lobbying for increased taxation on tobacco industry also said that implementation of ‘health tax’ could add Rs250 billion to the national exchequer in 3 years.

The participants also said that despite inflation and increase in prices of all commodities, the prices of cigarettes had not been increased.

Executive Director SPARC Sajjad Ahmed Cheema said that it was estimated that if the government eliminates the lowest tax tier and brings the FED of the lower tier to Rs40, it would raise significant additional tobacco tax revenue of Rs18.4 billion, a 20.9% increase from the current tobacco tax revenue.

As an added advantage, it will reduce cigarette consumption by 12.6% and reduce number of smoking-related deaths among current and future smokers by 3.1% (a reduction of about 0.35 million people every year).

Considering the fact that increase in dollar price has an effect on the prices of basic goods like fruits and vegetables, whereas on the other hand, the prices of tobacco products are the same. We are still unable to get why this sector is ignored for imposition of taxes which has been contributing a lot to increase the health cost and burden of diseases on the Nation, they said.

This has made cigarettes and other tobacco products within the reach of the children buying power.

We urge the government to increase tobacco taxes and save our children, they said.

Malik Imran Ahmad from Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, Pakistan office said that big tobacco industry caused a whopping Rs153 billion loss to the national exchequer between 2016-19 by being awarded low tax rate and adjusting the prices of their most sold brands.

After introduction of third tier, around 160 billion cigarettes were produced from May 2017 to March 2019. Big tobacco companies share 75% of the total market, which means that they were able to sell 120 billion cigarettes in the same period, they said.

Loss of revenue due to introduction of 3rd tier (low tobacco taxes) is Rs77.85 billion from 2016 to 2019.  Loss of revenue due to price adjustments is Rs75 billion from 2018 to 2019.

Manager Research SPARC Khalil Ahmad shared that Pakistan was one of the 15 countries with the heavy burden of tobacco-related health issues. Around 1,000 to 1,200 Pakistani children between ages of 6-15 years start smoking every day, according to the Global Adult Tobacco Survey results of 2015.

Pakistan’s population consists of 60% youth below the age of 25 years where alarming statistics of the young people getting addicted and at risk of tobacco consumption calls for strict tax reforms and checks for selling cigarettes to the minors particularly.