Did the sale ban work? Dr Ross informed that 9% of the smokers reportedly quit during the sale ban in South Africa, out of which two-thirds planned to stay quit for good. However, 93% of the smokers could purchase cigarettes in South Africa despite the sales ban. Also, the average price of cigarettes went up by 250% relative to the price before the lockdown in the country.
Dr Ross said that only a tiny fraction of people who could get a cigarette during the sales ban got it from formal retailers. Most of the users got it from Spaza shops (informal convenience stores), house shops, street vendors, friends and family, via WhatsApp groups, etc.
Moreover, during the sales ban, tobacco manufacturers could produce cigarettes for export. But guess what? Exports increased dramatically but most of them might have not left the country or came back from abroad to be sold in the country itself, said Dr Ross.
She called on South Africa to ratify the global treaty for eliminating the illicit tobacco trade and substantially increase tobacco taxes to boost public health and to make up for the revenue loss.
Dr MG Thamizh Valavan from Ministry of Finance, Government of India shared that after the country ratified the global treaty for eliminating illicit tobacco trade in 2018, there has been some progress to address the issue. He said that according to the World Health Organization, illicit cigarette market in India accounted for 6% of the total cigarette consumption in 2016-2017, though industry claims are much inflated. Retail value of illicit cigarettes is over US$ 753 million including foregone tax revenues of around US$ 390 million. He said that India is considering adopting the Kenya model of combating illicit tobacco trade, in which all costs to implement the obligations of the treaty to end illicit tobacco trade are collected from the industry. This ensures that all steps taken by the government towards eliminating illicit trade will remain cost-neutral for it.
Rodrigo Santos Feijo from the global tobacco treaty (WHO FCTC) secretariat made an important remark that eliminating the illicit tobacco trade will not only benefit public health and incur more revenues for the government but also help us accelerate progress towards other sustainable development goals. The next important meeting of the global treaty for elimination of the illicit tobacco trade is due in November 2021 now.
legal and financial liability of tobacco industry
"Right now our greatest chance of dying from Covid-19 is not necessarily related to the treatment we receive or the variant, but our outcome of Covid-19 is pre-determined by our health history - whether we have hypertension, diabetes (or other conditions associated with Covid-19 serious outcomes) - whether you have had years of badly managed underlying health conditions- this is the single most predictive and prognostic marker of whether you will die from Covid-19" had said Dr Michael Ryan, Executive Director of the World Health Organization Health Emergencies Programme, who also leads the team responsible for international containment and treatment of Covid-19. Dr Ryan was speaking in end of March 2021 at a report launch by CSO Partnership for Development Effectiveness.
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