Govt to impose sin tax on tobacco products

ISLAMABAD: The government will impose a sin tax on tobacco products, Federal Minister for National Health Services Aamer Mehmood Khan announced on Tuesday.

“We are sending a sin tax bill in the National Assembly in which taxes would be imposed on cigarettes and tobacco products,” Khan said while addressing the Annual Public Health Conference.

The minister added that tax received from this would be spent on the youth including their human development and education. 

A sin tax is an excise of sales tax which is imposed on goods which are deemed harmful such as tobacco, alcohol, candies, soft drinks and fast food.

Sin taxes are imposed in several countries including the US, India and the Philippines. In 2017, the World Bank cited the sin tax reform in the Philippines as among the most successful tobacco taxation which not only increased revenues for the country but also cut down on the number of smokers.