Govt urged to impose heavy taxes on tobacco.

ISLAMABAD -- Speakers at a media session urged the government to impose heavy taxation on tobacco to control growing consumption in the country.

The media session was organised by Human Development Foundation (HDF) on Wednesday at a local hotel. The session was joined in by partners from civil society like PakistanNationalHeartAssociation (Panah), Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (Sparc) and media persons.

The media session was held to highlight the growing need for enforcement of Health Levy bill on cigarettes.

HDF CEO Azhar Saleem said that tobacco use had a significant impact on the economic costs of a country, including the health care costs for treating tobacco related diseases and lost productivity of workforce.

The annual economic cost of smoking in Pakistan is as high as Rs143 billion, he said.

'Higher taxes on tobacco products create a win-win situation, as they not only increase revenues but improve public health as they lead to reduction in tobacco consumption.

He also said that countries like Philippines had implemented health tax on tobacco products which had resulted in a sustainable source of funding for the national health care programmes.

Sparc Executive Director Sajjad Cheema said it was their duty to save youth and children from tobacco. The most effective measure in this regard is the higher prices of tobacco products.

He said with higher taxes and the proposed health levy, the prices of cigarettes would increase which would limit access and ultimately reduce the overall consumption by...