Thailand: Academics Call for Tobacco Tax Raise to Cut Smoking

Source from:  Bangkok Post  05/19/2014

Health academics are calling on the government to raise tobacco taxes to cut smoking.

The call comes ahead of World No Tobacco Day on May 31. The theme this year is "raising taxes on tobacco".

"About 60% of Thais who stopped smoking quit because of increased tobacco taxes," Dr Prakit Wathisathokkit, secretary-general of the Action on Smoking and Health Foundation Thailand, recently told a seminar.

"If Thailand doesn't apply measures to raise tobacco taxes, it won't be able to reduce the number of smokers."

The most recent boost to tobacco tax rates made by the government was in 2012, where the aim was to control tobacco consumption and increase revenue.

A specific tax based on the quantity or weight of tobacco was also introduced the same year.

It was implemented along with the existing ad valorem tax rate, based on a percentage of manufacturer or retail prices.

As a result of tax changes, the ad valorem rate of tobacco tax increased from 55% in 1992 to 87% in 2013, while the new specific rate is currently one baht per gramme of tobacco.

Health academics believe that increasing the tobacco tax resulted in cigarette sale volumes remaining at 2.14 billion packs in 1992 and 2.17 billion packs in 2013, despite heavy promotion by tobacco companies.

The academics also said that the tax increases had brought in extra government income of 15.3 billion baht in 1992, rising to 67.8 billion baht in 2013.

"Increasing taxes clearly cuts tobacco consumption, especially among teenagers," said Yonas Tegegn, World Health Organisation (WHO) representative to Thailand.

"It is an efficient way to prevent people from smoking, and enables governments to raise funds to help those who lose jobs in the tobacco industry," he said.

Last year, Dr Prakit proposed the government increase the cigarette ad valorem tax to its 90% ceiling rate, and specific rate from 1 to 2 baht per gramme of tobacco.

The government has yet to discuss the proposal.

Siriwan Pitayarangsarit, director of Mahidol University's Tobacco Control Research and Knowledge Management Centre, said 44% of smoking-related diseases are caused by consumption of shredded tobacco.

All types of tobacco tax must be regularly boosted every couple of years to prevent smokers turning from one kind of tobacco to another," she said. Enditem