Tobacco Industry Exaggerates Illicit Trade Share To Avoid Legitimate Taxes: PANAH

Pakistan National Heart Association (PANAH) General Secretary and Director Operations Sana Ullah Ghumman Monday said the tobacco industry was misleading the youth and the government in the name of the Better Pakistan campaign and overestimated the share of illicit trade in order to avoid any tax increase

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd Nov, 2021 ) :Pakistan National Heart Association (PANAH) General Secretary and Director Operations Sana Ullah Ghumman Monday said the tobacco industry was misleading the youth and the government in the name of the Better Pakistan campaign and overestimated the share of illicit trade in order to avoid any tax increase.

Addressing a media conference here, he said according to independent study conducted by York University in 2020, illicit trade share was only 10 percent of the total market.

Ghumman said, "There is no evidence behind the 'Rs70 billion' loss that the industry claims in this campaign. As a result of this narrative no price increase has been reported in tobacco products during this government, even though prices on essentials goods have significantly increased." Vice Chancellor Health Services academy Dr. Shehzad Ali Khan, Chairperson National Commission on the Rights of the Child (NCRC) Afshan Tehseen Bajwa, Former Member Provincial Assembly and Chairperson Nation Development Organization Tehseen Fawad, Representative of SPARC Khalil Ahmad, Naveed Abbasi and others participated the news conference.

Sana Ullah Ghumman said as a signatory to World Health Organisation (WHO)'s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control the government should not forget its obligations to protect its citizens and be mindful of such misleading campaigns led by the industry.

"More than 170,000 people die each year from tobacco-related diseases.The annual cost of treating diseases caused by tobacco use is Rs 615 billion. However, the income from the tobacco industry is not enough," he added.

Chairperson Nation Development Organization Tehseen Fawad, Representative of SPARC Khalil Ahmad, Naveed Abbasi other participants in the press conference said that tobacco was a major cause of heart and other deadly diseases including cancer.

"The tobacco industry has launched the Better Pakistan campaign to mislead the younger generation and the government, so that more people can become targets of the tobacco industry," they added.