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Kick habit or pay more to puff
DUBAI -Taking a puff is one step closer to becoming expensive as authorities have agreed to implement a unified GCC-wide 200 per cent import and health tax on tobacco products.
Once implemented, the tax — to be enforced under a federal law — will add up to the existing import tax of 100 per cent leading to an increase of Dh10-12 per carton of cigarettes, said a senior health official.
According to the World Health Organisation, prices of cigarettes in the UAE and region are among the lowest. In the country, the retail price of a pack of 20 cigarettes is anywhere between Dh2 and Dh8.
Health officials are also working on a proposal that will seek a ban on import of chewable and smokeless tobacco.
“The ministries of finance and health of all GCC countries recently agreed on the health tax (100 per cent) and, once the GCC Council of Ministers’ approves the tax, it will be implemented,” said Dr Wedad Al Maidoor, head of the National Tobacco Control Committee at the UAE health ministry, while speaking to Khaleej Times after the GCC Tobacco Control Committee held its 21st meeting on Sunday.
A training course on taxation will also be held in Cairo in April, said Dr Wedad.
The health tax was proposed in January 2010 after initial discussions to levy a 200 per cent import duty was rejected by the finance ministry fearing loss of business to other regional countries that follow the GCC Customs Law of 100 per cent taxation.
Besides hoping to deter smokers, part of the funds raised from the tax will be used for health awareness campaigns against tobacco use and even to treat patients suffering from tobacco-related ailments, she said.
Dr Wedad also said that though chewable and smokeless tobacco was banned by local governments, there was no provision for it in the federal law. “We are working on a project that will ban the import of these products. There is a possibility that a separate law be readied for this ban,” she added.
Dr Mahmoud Fikri, Assistant Undersecretary for Health Policies at the Ministry of Health, said the executive by laws are expected to be approved soon by authorities.
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