TO mark World No Tobacco Day, observed on Saturday, numerous measures and proposals were announced by the government and civil society to aid efforts to kick the smoking habit. The minister of state for national health services said the government was going to further tighten regulations governing tobacco ads while anti-smoking activists called for an increase in taxes levied on cigarettes. That we have a tobacco problem is obvious. The national Tobacco Control Cell estimates that between 22 to 25 million Pakistanis are smokers while 100,000 people are believed to die every year due to tobacco use. Activists have pointed out that Pakistan ranks amongst the biggest tobacco consumers in Asia while the World Health Organisation believes tobacco use in Pakistan is rising fast. Apart from lighting up, Pakistanis also consume ‘smokeless’ tobacco products such as gutka and naswar, as well as tobacco-laced paans. Keeping these facts in mind, it is no wonder some anti-tobacco campaigners have said tobacco use in Pakistan can turn into a ‘national epidemic’. In this regard, raising taxes on cigarettes may help: higher prices should reduce consumption and increase tax revenue, which can be spent on health and social programmes, as per WHO’s recommendation.

But there is a catch: raising taxes will be pointless until the rampant smuggling of cigarettes into the country is stopped. Most smuggled cigarettes originate from Afghanistan. There is no check on the quality of such cigarettes entering Pakistan, which are easily available from Karachi to Peshawar. Most smuggled packs do not contain health warnings in Urdu, while some contain no warnings at all. Militants in the border areas are also reportedly making good money off smuggling cigarettes. Until the smuggling racket is busted, efforts like increasing taxes or carrying out awareness campaigns will have little effect. Though a demanding task considering the long, porous border we share with Afghanistan, the state must keep a strict watch on known smuggling routes. Also, the state needs to regulate and crack down on other tobacco products such as gutka and naswar. Gutka, for example, is hugely popular with large segments of the population, particularly the youth. Hence anti-tobacco campaigns must also raise awareness about the harms of this concoction.

Published in Dawn, June 2nd, 2014