PANAH suggests tobacco taxes be raised even higher

Pakistan National Heart Association (PANAH) has proposed that the government increase tariffs on unnecessary and harmful tobacco products. Increased tobacco-related levies will lessen diseases and healthcare expenses while also helping to generate tax revenue.

Sanaullah Ghumman, PANAH’s General Secretary, announced this at a news conference held by the Pakistan National Heart Association on Wednesday at a local hotel.

Smoking, according to Sanaullah Ghumman, is not healthy for human health in any aspect, and it is the first step toward addiction. Health experts and civil society groups have also urged the Prime Minister to increase tobacco goods taxes.

A significant number of health experts and civil society representatives attended the event. Tobacco kills 8 million people worldwide each year, according to a global study, and more than 1.5 million individuals in Pakistan lose their lives each year owing to smoking.

On World Food Safety Day, PANAH proposed that tariffs on sugary drinks be increased as well, as these beverages are harmful to children and cause a variety of health problems.

Sanaullah Ghumman spoke at the event, urging a 30 per cent rise in tobacco product taxes to protect minors from tobacco usage.

“This will be a win-win situation for us,” he continued, “since it will lower the health burden while also dramatically increasing revenue”. PANAH, he claimed, had been educating the public about a variety of dangerous diseases, including heart disease and its causes, for 39 years.