ISLAMABAD:Health experts, in a press release on Saturday, expressed satisfaction over government’s decision to increase taxation on tobacco products while putting forward recommendations for future to save millions of lives from harms of tobacco products.
The Society for Protection of Rights of the Child (SPARC) applauded the government’s move to increase taxes on tobacco products for the first time in four years, said the press release.
SPARC Programme Manager Khalil Ahmed Dogar stated that government should have considered the growing inflation rate while finalizing the taxes on tobacco products for fiscal year 2022-23. Due to a rise in inflation and upward trend in the dollar price, the prices of tobacco products should be raised accordingly, he added.
He said that although this was a small step but it was in right direction, which would not only reduce the tobacco consumption and its accessibility, but would also keep the minors off from tobacco.
Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids (CTFK) Country Head Malik Imran Ahmed said that every year tobacco industry tries to manipulate policymakers in order to fill its coffers at expense of lives of more than 170,000 people who die due to diseases caused and aggravated by the usage of tobacco products. He expressed satisfaction that this year the government has not listened the deceptive tactics of big tobacco industry and raised taxes on tobacco products.
Chromatic Trust CEO Shariq Ahmed stated that the country was facing a severe shortage of funds to combat the poverty crisis. “The government needs to remain steadfast to overcome any challenge thrown by big tobacco industry. The next steps are strict implementation of laws regarding graphic health warnings, promotion and advertising bans and smoke-free places”, he said.