THE recent announcement by the Finance Ministry about the government’s ‘consultative meeting’ with an international tobacco manufacturer is deeply disturbing. What kind of ‘economic cooperation’ can there be with an industry that kills 180,000 Pakistanis every year? Tobacco money is tainted with the blood of those who die of lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and heart disease. How can the government extend its hand to cooperate with them?
The World Bank established years ago that tobacco revenue is bad economics. It makes poor countries poorer. Pakistan spends Rs615 billion annually on treating tobacco-related diseases — three times the Rs200 billion collected in tax. We also lose billions in foreign exchange on importing cancer drugs, stents and ventilators for diseases tobacco causes. Tobacco company ‘investment’ means more hospitals, more graves and more broken families.
Pakistan is a signatory to the World Health Organisation (WHO) Framework Con- vention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) Article 5.3, which requires protecting public health policy from tobacco industry interference. Fiscal policy on tobacco must involve the Ministry of Health, not just the Finance Ministry. The government should reject tobacco investment, and increase tobacco tax by at least 30 per cent in the next budget. Investment at the cost of human life is unacceptable.
Prof Javaid Khan
President, Pakistan Chest Society Sindh,
Karachi
Published in Dawn, September 23rd, 2026
