THIS is with reference to the article ‘Tax tobacco now’ (June 3). One agrees with the assertion of taxing tobacco as a way of generating revenues and decreasing the use of tobacco. However, that is not going to be enough if the idea is to discourage tobacco consumption in the country.

There is no point in disregarding the ground realities in Pakistan. The number of smokers and tobacco consumers has been on the rise in the country. And, when the writer concerned was the federal health minister just a couple of years ago, the sin tax on tobacco could not be accommodated in the budget. In other words, taxing tobacco is a task easier said than done because of a variety of reasons.

There is an illicit cigarette market in Pakistan. Tobacco control activists and the industry may differ on the volume of illicit cigarette manufacturing in the country, but they do exist and everybody knows it. Taxing tobacco may well be an effective strategy to discourage the use of tobacco, but to present it as a panacea to the issue of smoking prevalence and also to Pakistan’s debt trap is perhaps stretching it a bit too much.

Isn’t it strange that Pakistan is taking all the right steps under the World Health Organisation’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), but there has not been substantial decrease in the number of smokers? We need to look around and see what the world is trying to stub out the cigarettes.

It is high time Pakistan looked at how, say, the United Kingdom has been employing tobacco harm reduction to plan for phasing out smoking completely by 2030.

Junaid Ali Khan
Islamabad

Published in Dawn, June 16th, 2022

Opinion

Editorial

‘Source of terror’
Updated 29 Mar, 2024

‘Source of terror’

It is clear that going after militant groups inside Afghanistan unilaterally presents its own set of difficulties.
Chipping in
29 Mar, 2024

Chipping in

FEDERAL infrastructure development schemes are located in the provinces. Most such projects — for instance,...
Toxic emitters
29 Mar, 2024

Toxic emitters

IT is concerning to note that dozens of industries have been violating environmental laws in and around Islamabad....
Judiciary’s SOS
Updated 28 Mar, 2024

Judiciary’s SOS

The ball is now in CJP Isa’s court, and he will feel pressure to take action.
Data protection
28 Mar, 2024

Data protection

WHAT do we want? Data protection laws. When do we want them? Immediately. Without delay, if we are to prevent ...
Selling humans
28 Mar, 2024

Selling humans

HUMAN traders feed off economic distress; they peddle promises of a better life to the impoverished who, mired in...