Health ministry wants cigarette taxes raised
WEDNESDAY, 06 JUNE 2012 23:48 BY JOHN MUCHANGI
The Ministry of Health has asked for higher taxes on tobacco products to stop increased smoking among teenagers. Senior deputy director of public health Dr William Maina said the number of smokers is rising despite the 2007 Tobacco Control Act. “Ministry of Finance should now raise taxes to stop young people from affording cigarettes,” he said in Nairobi yesterday at a forum hosted by the International Institute for Legislative Affairs.
Cigarette smoking is the key preventable cause of cancer in Kenya, according to health experts. Finance minister Njeru Githae will present the annual budget estimates to Parliament next week. Maina and the civil society groups involved said they presented their proposals during the sector hearings by the Finance Committee. “It’s sad they (manufacturers) are targeting children, not grown up people like me,” said Dr Maina, who also heads the department of non-communicable diseases.
The 2007 Act was meant to stem the uptake of cigarettes mainly among young people, through advertising bans and higher taxes among other measures. A national opinion poll on tobacco control conducted by the Ministry of Health recently showed that 13 per cent of primary school children abuse tobacco. Dr Maina said the country is staring at a health crisis if the trend continues. ILA executive director Vincent Kimosop said tax should be raised to 70 per cent of retail price as recommended by the World Health Organisation. Currently taxes make 55 per cent of the retail price for cigarettes.
However, the Ministry of Public Health says it spends at least three times the amount of taxes that cigarette companies pay, to treat tobacco-related diseases. Kimosop said when you factor in inflation, cigarettes in Kenya are much cheaper than they were 10 years ago. “Real price of tobacco has to be above the rise in income. We should ensure inflation does not erode the real value of the excise tax,” he said. ILA also questioned why the noted increase in consumption was not reflected by a similar increase in government revenue from cigarettes.
Programme manager Emma Wanyonyi said there was a possibility of tax evasion or smuggled cigarettes for which tax was not paid. Kenya Revenue Authority receives about Sh6 billion tax from cigarette manufacturers annually but the Ministry of Public Heath ministry said it spends Sh18 billion treating tobacco-related illnesses. WHO’s Framework convention on tobacco control, which Kenya ratified in 2004, calls for regular tax increase on tobacco products. It also calls for governments to promote alternative but economically viable plants that farmers can adopt instead of tobacco.
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