India has made “progress” in increasing taxes on cigarettes between 2012-14, a WHO report released today said which also urged nations across the globe to raise taxes on tobacco products to reduce its consumption.
WHO Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic 2015 which was released today in Manila said that “too few” governments levy appropriate levels of tax on cigarettes and other tobacco products and miss out on a proven, low-cost measure to curb demand for tobacco and save lives.
A top official of the WHO South-East Asia region after the launch of the report noted that India’s comprehensive tobacco control program has expanded to cover the entire nation now and advocated the urgent need for improved tax measures, stronger law enforcement and enhanced cessation efforts for nations of this region.
“The WHO Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic released today shows that between 2012 and 2014, Bangladesh, India and Maldives have made progress in increasing taxes on cigarettes...
”...India’s comprehensive tobacco control program has expanded to cover the entire nation,” said Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director WHO South-East Asia in a statement after the release of the report.
She said that improved tax measures, stronger law enforcement and enhanced cessation efforts are urgently needed in the South-East Asia Region to protect people against the ill-effects of tobacco which continues to be a “major” public health issue.
She said that tobacco kills approximately 6 million people annually, 20 per cent of them live in the region which accounts for 25 per cent of the world’s smokers and almost 90 per cent of smokeless tobacco users.
Recent estimates show that there are about 246 million smokers and 290 million smokeless tobacco users in the Region, she said.
Mr. Singh said that Nepal has made progress in implementing bans on advertisement, promotion and sponsorships of tobacco products while Myanmar has expanded smoke free places.
Thailand has successfully protected warning label requirements (85 per cent of the two largest surfaces of cigarette packs and cartons), she said.
Noting that many countries in the region have been making substantial progress in implementing tobacco control and prevention measures, Singh said that Bangladesh is among the seven countries in the world that have raised taxes that represent over 75 per cent of the retail price of a pack of cigarettes.
“Increasing tobacco taxes is the most cost-effective measure of tobacco control, it is a win-win approach for government revenues and the health of the population.
Governments need to tax all tobacco products in a manner that people do not opt out of one expensive product to a less expensive one.
“Taxing all tobacco products comparably is a must to reduce incentives for substitution. Currently governments are levying much less tax on smokeless tobacco and regulations do not cover all aspects of smokeless tobacco use. Smokeless tobacco is the main cause of oral cancer in the Region,” she said.
Singh said that presently most countries have a complex and “tiered” tax structure that is not only difficult to administer but also creates loopholes that undermine both the health and revenue impacts of tobacco excise taxes.
She also advocated the need for strong administration of tobacco taxes and crack down on illicit trade of tobacco to reap the public health benefit of tobacco tax increase.
“Countries in the region need to strengthen their initiatives against tobacco that continues to cause premature deaths while adding to the increasing epidemic of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as chronic lung disease, heart ailments and cancer,” she said.
