Pakistan ranked seventh among countries with high tobacco-consumers

Pakistan has become the seventh country in the world with the highest number of tobacco consumers, according to the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI).

The figures were shared by experts in a media talk, which revealed that Pakistan is first in tobacco-consuming countries globally as per WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR).

According to the experts, cigarette consumption is increasing across the world and Pakistan has witnessed an upsurge in recent years.

Instead of increasing revenue from the cigarette industry, the country has to pay billions in losses, both in terms of revenue and increased health costs.

Pakistan is one the top cigarette producers with the production of almost 60 billion sticks annually, according to estimates.

However, the tobacco industry has not achieved any tax targets in the last seven years, Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) data revealed.

Meanwhile, the industry has suffered a loss of Rs567 billion during the last seven years, several research studies including one by SDPI claimed.

On the other hand, the WHO asserted that governments should make strict tobacco tax policies for effective development, implementation, and enforcement of Public health initiatives. 

Moreover, the research suggested the tax methods applied by high and middle-income countries in order to decrease the consumption of tobacco products and increase government revenues.