A civil society organization, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) has called on the federal government to increase tax on tobacco to reduce the health hazards and the corresponding deaths associated with cigarettes smoking. The Programme Manager of CISLAC, Mr. Okeke Anya who made the call in Umuahia, Abia State, during a one-day training for media...
Several shocking new reports, released by tobacco industry watchdog STOP and covering whistleblower accounts and leaked industry documents, have laid out the latest damning evidence of the tobacco industry’s relentless campaign of dirty dealings in Africa. Tobacco giant British American Tobacco (BAT) apparently ran a mass surveillance operation to spy on its rivals, as well as doling out...
“As countries step up efforts to strengthen their tobacco control measures, the tobacco industry is also intensifying its interference.” – Global Tobacco Industry Interference Index 2020. Sandisiwe Kela started smoking when she was 15, and by age 18, she smoked every day. As a curious kid, she could only fight the urge to try out...
The government should consider increasing excise taxes on tobacco products to at least 75 percent of the average retail price to generate additional revenue for COVID-19 measures. Jeremias Paul Jr., a former undersecretary at the Department of Finance who now leads the World Health Organization (WHO)’s fiscal policy unit, said raising tobacco taxes would also...
Once upon a time, menthol cigarettes were regularly (but falsely) marketed by its makers as a less harsh and less harmful alternative to “normal” cigarettes. Menthol is a compound that has a minty cooling effect when added to cigarettes. It also has the additional advantage of blocking pain receptors in the mouth and throat. Instead of being...
Ghana is set to complete its ratification of the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products, an international treaty under the aegis of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). The move is a landmark step for a country where one in five cigarettes are sold illegally and an encouraging one, given the deleterious effects that the...
Once a financial lifeline to a young nation, tobacco is now widely known to be highly addictive and a threat to one’s health. Despite its dangers, every day the persuasive and glamorous commercial messages encourage the use of tobacco products among minors and youth in the United States. While advertisements for traditional tobacco products are...
Dr Yussuf Saloojee, director of the National Council Against Smoking, has said that South Africa's anti-tobacco lobby needs to create more effective messages to counter the tobacco industry's focus on the economic role it plays and the taxes it pays. Saloojee was speaking at the launch of the 2021 Tobacco Industry Interference Index for South...
Massachusetts could see moist snuff rise to more than $20 a can, according to the Tax Foundation. WASHNGTON, D.C. — While no tax hikes are set in stone, a proposal to increase the federal excise tax for tobacco products could have a dramatic impact at retail. The Tobacco Tax Equity Act of 2021 would close tax code...
The current spending package being spearheaded by congressional Democrats could be a truly transformational achievement, solving many of the systemic and near-term problems facing the American people. However, many of this bill’s benefits could be entirely counteracted if lawmakers include a provision called the Tobacco Tax Equity Act. This bill, first introduced last spring, has flown...
