ISLAMABAD: Speakers at a webinar highlighted that the need for tobacco taxation is one of the clauses of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme which Pakistan needs to abide by.

Parliamentary Secretary for Health Dr Nausheen Hamid said that tobacco taxation and related health issues need constant monitoring and the federal government was committed to coming up with such systems.

The webinar was organised by Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) here on Tuesday titled ‘Fiscal Intervention for Health Policy; advocating the case of imposing higher taxes on tobacco regime’.

Ms Hamid said tax evasion in the tobacco industry results in a loss of billions of rupees to the national economy, mainly in health costs and a trace and track system needs to be established urgently.

“Besides, stringent enforcement of policy related to chewable tobacco products is also the need of the hour,” she added.

SDPI executive director Dr Abid Qaiyum Suleri, indicating the void in tobacco taxation policies added that the tobacco industry was aware of the impending track and trace system and is making all out efforts to delay it.

“As the federal budget is in the offing, the tobacco companies are advocating for a decrease on taxes imposed on tobacco products,” Dr Suleri said.

However, he added, the federal government has been in the mood to impose higher taxes on tobacco products and bring these products under the trace and track system.

Social Policy and Development Centre Managing Director Dr Asif Iqbal said that the three-tier system had resulted in an increase of low-quality tobacco consumption in Pakistan.

He suggested that a 30pc increase in the Federal Excise Duty (FED), will increase not only the tax revenue by Rs19 billion of tobacco products but also drop the consumption rate by around 3.8pc.

Published in Dawn, May 26th, 2021