Govt urged to raise tobacco taxes to cut health costs
An anti-smoking network is calling on the government to raise tobacco taxes and impose a special tax on cigarettes. Tax hikes should effectively lower tobacco consumption, network chairman Somsri Paosawat said last week.
The Health Professional Network for a Tobacco-free Thai Society Network’s statement countered a proposal by the Thailand Tobacco Monopoly (TTM) that the junta end the industry’s mandatory contribution to a health fund that comes from cigarette sales. The move would generate more revenue through cigarette exports, the TTM said.
Somsri said the government earned no tax from uncured tobacco sales but had to finance the medical bills of smokers, who were mostly poor. The network estimated that about 6 million Thais smoked uncured tobacco. She said the special tax on cigarettes should be raised from Bt1 a gram to Bt1.5-Bt2.
“Through these means, tobacco consumption will drop,” she said.
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