July 2021
Our World is Being Burned By Tobacco
Every step of a tobacco product’s life cycle degrades our planet and decimates our natural resources. The tobacco industry doesn’t just hurt our health. It tears down trees, erodes soil and produces toxic waste. And that’s even before its deadly products are sold to consumers. Once used, tobacco products pollute the air, poison fish and...
Tobacco taxation – a win for public health, a win for revenue and a win for the economy overall
A new tobacco tax manual recently released by WHO, confirms that the most cost-effective, mechanism for reducing tobacco consumption is a significant increase in excise taxes that leads to price increases. Although this evidence on the effectiveness of tobacco taxation is irrefutable, it remained the least implemented of the MPOWER measures (designed to support...
India: Smokers less vulnerable to Covid: tobacco traders to Bombay HC
The applications sought permission to intervene in the PIL after the HC sought to know from the state government its opinion on the steps to be taken on a report by experts that indicated smokers are more vulnerable to Covid-19. The Bombay High Court on Tuesday said it will hear two intervention applications by Mumbai...
Kenya: National Treasury’s high excise duty on nicotine pouches is ill-advised
A proposal by the National Treasury to impose high excise duty on nicotine pouches is likely to make this alternative to smoking unaffordable to most Kenyan smokers. In his Budget Statement presented to Parliament on June 10, National Treasury and Planning CS Ukur Yatani had set the new tax at Sh5,000 per kilogramme. The net...
Gambia: Task Force Starts Enforcing Tobacco Control Act, Regulations
The Gambia Police Force on Tuesday 29th June 2021 said a joint operation by the Police, GRA-Customs, Public Health and Environmental Inspectors has been activated to enforce the Tobacco Control Act and Regulations. The public is hereby reminded that, the Tobacco Control Act has banned public smoking, display of tobacco products, selling of single sticks...
The Philippines: Court denies tobacco firm’s tax refund
The Court of Tax Appeals (CTA) denied for lack of merit the petition filed by British American Tobacco (BAT) seeking a tax refund of PHP305.82 million representing excise taxes prepaid for 2017. In a decision dated June 28, the tax court's Second Division said there should be strict compliance with the requisites under the law...
India: Govt spending Rs 2L on cancer treatment caused by consuming Rs 2 gutkha
In a shocking revelation, it has come to notice that the government is forking out Rs 2 lakh on the treatment of an oral cancer patient who gets the disease due to consumption of gutkha that can be bought at Rs 2 and if the same treatment is availed at any private hospital, it...
D.C. Council votes to ban sale of flavored tobacco, including menthol cigarettes
A divided D.C. Council voted Tuesday to ban the sale of flavored tobacco products in the District, including menthol cigarettes. The 8-to-5 vote came after a lengthy debate in which legislators who opposed the ban — and even some who favored it — raised concerns that the law could create opportunities for Black smokers to...
