LAHORE: Under pressure from the tobacco industry, the government is considering a rollback in the very policy that brought Pakistan’s tobacco control efforts some long-overdue success.
Cigarette manufacturers have lobbied for a reduction in the Federal Excise Duty (FED) and have proposed introducing third-tier, ultra-low-cost cigarette brands in Pakistan, a strategy designed to flood the market with cheaper cigarettes. If gets approval, this move would increase cigarette affordability, particularly for young and low-income consumers, erasing the health and revenue gains made over the past year.
As per sources, these proposals are reportedly being pitched to the IMF, and if the IMF approves this rollback, it will cast serious doubt on its commitment to Pakistan’s long-term health goals. This situation urgently demands the IMF’s immediate intervention to ensure that short-term economic considerations do not jeopardize Pakistan’s public health future, the sources added. The government seems unsettlingly comfortable enabling an industry that causes over 160,000 deaths annually.
While countries globally are tightening tobacco control through higher taxes, Pakistan appears to be moving in reverse. In the Philippines, a sharp rise in excise duties under the Sin Tax Reform led to a 51% drop in per capita cigarette consumption—from 53.6 packs in 2010 to just 26.3 in 2022. Crucially, half of the revenue from these taxes is allocated to healthcare, turning a public health threat into a funding source for treatment and prevention, the sources added.
In contrast, Pakistan is considering a tax cut despite already having some of the cheapest cigarette prices in the region. By moving further away from the WHO’s recommendation that 70% of a cigarette’s price should be tax, Pakistan risks higher consumption, a greater health burden, and a more overstretched healthcare system. Lowering taxes would make cigarettes more accessible to youth and vulnerable groups, increasing smoking rates and worsening Pakistan’s healthcare crisis, the sources said.
"Pakistan has around 31 million adult tobacco users, including 17.3 million cigarette smokers, and tobacco use claims over 160,000 lives every year while draining 1.6% of the country’s GDP," said Asif Iqbal, Managing Director at Social Policy and Development Centre (SPDC).
He said, "A potential rolling back the FED at this juncture would be a critical error. It would shift the economic burden onto other sectors, and undo years of hard-won progress in public health. Approval of any such proposal would reflect a policy stance in Pakistan favouring vested interests at the expense of public welfare."
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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