The World Health Organisation (WHO) has revealed that countries use US$1.4 trillion in one year mitigating health issues related to tobacco use and resultant low productivity.
To control the leakage of funds, the health body has come up with tobacco tax manual, where countries are encouraged to consider fiscal policies to mitigate the crises. WHO avers that taxation reforms in the face of COVID-19 would be prudent in helping countries cut on health expenditure. And, as a result, extra funds can be re-channelled into other sectors of development.
“We launched this new manual to provide updated, clear, and practical guidance for policymakers, finance officials, tax authorities, customs officials and others involved in tobacco tax policy to create and implement the strongest tobacco taxation policies for their specific countries,” said Jeremias N. Paul Jr, the Unit Head for the Fiscal Policies for Health team in the Health Promotion Department at WHO.
“We hope this document sheds light on the significant advantages to raising tobacco taxation. The data and insights provided here should be an eye opener for policymakers worldwide,” he added.
The taxation model championed for by WHO is praised as the masterstroke of not only saving revenue by the countries but also lives.
For example, WHO approximates that 8 million people died as a result of first hand and second hand smoking or any other form of tobacco use in 2020.
WHO further revealed that its 2018 study revealed that only 38 countries—covering 14 per cent of the global population—had robust taxation policies on tobacco products. Much work therefore needs to be done.
According to the manual, the main objective is to raise revenue for the health sector, reduce treatment burden and lower the use of the substance.
The partly reads, ‘‘among the different taxes applied on tobacco products, excise taxes are the most significant because they raise both absolute and relative prices. This is important when considering health objectives, since it is the magnitude of the price increase of tobacco products that determines the reduction in consumption.’’
Some countries, especially South Sudan, have either weak or no policies when it comes to controlling tobacco use.
For instance, ‘WHO report on the global tobacco epidemic, 2019’ reveals that the country lacks policies on monitoring, smoke-free, health warnings and advertisement controls. It rates the country’s cigarette affordability highly, implying that lack of policies is derailing the efforts to control smoking.