Pakistan Bleeds $2.5 Billion Yearly: WHO Exposes Tobacco’s Deadly Toll (164,000 Lives Gone)
The World Health Organization (WHO) has sounded a dire alarm regarding the ruinous burden of tobacco consumption in Pakistan, which kills about 164,000 people every year and leaches the economy of more than PKR 700 billion (about US$ 2.5 billion).
Declaring the crisis both a public health emergency and an economic threat, WHO is calling for stronger tobacco control measures most notably through much higher taxes—to reduce use, save lives, and alleviate the national burden.
The agency stated all the tobacco products available in the market, without exception and irrespective of its manufacturer, are very harmful to health and endanger, in a great way, the vulnerable groups such as children and adolescents.
As World No Tobacco Day – 31 May – draws near, WHO again commits to collaborating with Pakistan in dealing with the long-standing health epidemic induced by tobacco.
WHO calls on governments to employ taxation as a key measure to discourage consumption but raise revenues that can be allocated towards improving health and development gains.
Without further action, the adverse effects of tobacco on the public health and the national economy will keep undermining Pakistan’s progress towards the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Evidence has established that tobacco taxation helps raise revenues for the Government and at the same time cut down on consumption, tobacco-related illnesses and burden on health systems.
In 2023, with a tax hike on tobacco products in Pakistan, tobacco consumption fell by 19.2%, of which 26.3% of smokers reduced cigarette consumption.
Revenue yield from the Federal Excise Duty (FED) on cigarettes went up by 66%, from PKR 142 billion in 2022–23 to 237 billion in 2023–24.
In Pakistan, FED rates on cigarettes are unchanged since February 2023 – hence more cheaper – and levels of taxation are lower than WHO’s suggested 75% retail price. This offers scope to enhance control measures.
Pakistan signed the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) in 2004, and WHO offers ongoing technical assistance to the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination and the Federal Board of Revenue in the realm of tobacco tax policy and track-and-trace implementation.
“There is no such thing as a safe tobacco product. Tobacco is a devastating burden on public health, for the economy, for our children and for our grandchildren.”
Tobacco kills up to half of its users who don’t quit, overstretches health systems and also harms non-smokers in our communities and families.
Make no mistake, all tobacco products available on the market – none of them – are highly toxic and hazardous,” stated WHO Representative in Pakistan Dr Dapeng Luo.
WHO joins hands with the Government of Pakistan in its efforts to decrease tobacco use and save lives.
