TOBACCO taxes have failed to curb tobacco use in Fiji and the industry should instead be shut down.
The call was made this week by former president of Fiji College of General Practitioners (FCGP) Dr Ram Raju in his reaction to the recent announcement by the Ministry of Health and Medical Services (MHMS) proposing a hike in tobacco taxes with an aim to raise an additional $53million over the next five-years.
“We have seen tax hikes for tobacco products for the last 40 years but that has completely failed to tackle or curb the use of tobacco in Fiji and not done any good to prevent tobacco related illnesses and deaths either,” Dr Raju said.
“There is only one way forward and that is to completely shut down the industry and find alternative sources of incomes for the tobacco farmers and the two manufacturing companies that we have in Fiji.
“The tax hikes have done no good to stop the prevalence and increase in tobacco use and the subsequent damage it has caused to the public health through direct and passive smoking is shocking.”
Arguing that Fiji was losing more than $600million a year on medical bills for tobacco-related health issues, Dr Raju said it was a significant loss compared to the $53million that the ministry is trying to generate with higher tax.
“In a gentleman’s term, it is called being penny wise and pound foolish,” Dr Raju said.
“I would also dispute the figure of 1200 deaths per year caused by tobacco smoking illnesses. The figure is far more than that and proper research needs to be conducted in this area.”
Dr Raju also proposes that all tobacco farmers be encouraged to plant fruits and vegetables or given licenses to plant medicinal marijuana and that the factories be turned into food processing plants for fruits and vegetables.
NOTE: This article was first published in the print edition of the Fiji Times dated December 25, 2024.
