Pakistan is among the top ten tobacco consumers in the world. Globally, over eight million people die due to tobacco use every year, of which more than 160,000 in Pakistan. Tobacco use is directly to be blamed for more than twenty types of cancers and scores of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). Consistent with national taxation provisions, the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) contends that effective tobacco taxes not only decrease consumption and
prevalence but also contribute to the reduction of the government’s expenditure on healthcare costs directly attributable to tobacco consumption. FCTC Article 6 and the guideline point to tobacco use as responsible for significantly increasing economic burden, higher health costs, higher indirect costs associated with the premature loss of life, disability due to tobaccoassociated diseases, and loss in productivity. FCTC and its guidelines provide the foundation for countries to implement and manage tobacco control. To help make this a reality, the WHO introduced the MPOWER measures. These measures are intended to assist in the country-level implementation of effective interventions to reduce the demand for tobacco, contained in the WHO FCTC. R – Raising taxes on tobacco products, leads to increases in their price, makes tobacco less affordable. Reduction in affordability has a positive impact on youth and low-income groups due to quitting and preventing initiation. WHO recommendations encourage all parties to use tobacco taxes to meet their health, revenue, and equity objectives. Tobacco taxation is an essential element of the tobacco control policy in the country, which serves the dual objective of public health promotion and revenue generation. Foregoing in this view, this discussion aims to address the following.
1. How can Pakistan move towards a long-term tobacco taxation policy?
2. What existing gaps can be identified to increase the FED to reach the widely accepted
benchmark of an excise tax share of 70 percent of the retail price?
3. How can tobacco taxation support the hard-pressed economy in Pakistan?