BY TEWODROS KASSA
ADDIS ABABA – The Health, Development and Anti-Malaria Association (HDAMA) emphasized the need for raising the current excise tax levied on tobacco products in a bid to ensure societal health.
The association organized a half-day capacity-building workshop on Thursday for journalists on “Ethiopia’s Smoke-Free Implementation Status, as well as Identified Gaps in the Amended Excise Tax Proclamation and Policy Recommendations.”
Approached by The Ethiopian Herald, HDAMA Deputy Executive Director Aklilu Getnet stated that raising the excise tax on the products immensely helps towards achieving meaningful impacts to reduce risks of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs).
To him, the affordability of tobacco products in the country exposes a significant number of youth to using the products without considering their severe health impacts.
“To this end, successive and comprehensive public consultation with pertinent stakeholders is important before ratifying the excise tax raise proclamation towards fulfilling the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended level of taxation.”
Having a concrete public consultation on the issue immensely contributes to gathering important inputs for the implementation. Failing to raise the excise tax on such products might result in undeniable socio-economic challenges in the society.
“The proposed excise tax raise to be ratified by the parliament is 51 percent. However, WHO recommended raising the excise tax to 71 percent.”
Health taxes are the most effective measures to reduce the consumption of tobacco products and ease the health risks. With high economic growth and high inflation rate in Ethiopia, real tax prices are eroded, and the affordability of these harmful products is increasing, the director emphasized.
The Ethiopian Herald 19 March 2023
