JEDDAH, 18 February 2005 — Health ministers from the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have decided to increase to 150 percent taxes on tobacco and its bi-products in a bid to discourage tobacco users and reduce the number of smokers in their countries, according to reports reaching here yesterday.
At the end of an annual conference held in Muscat on Tuesday, the ministers from Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Qatar, also proposed a raise to 100 percent the taxes levied on shipments of tools and all other material used in the smoking of shisha.
A recent Gulf health study has shown that the GCC countries import more than 65 billion cigarettes annually at the cost of SR3.1 billion. Statistics indicate that 40 percent of men and 10 percent of women in Gulf states smoke. Smoking among the young and minors was put at 15 percent. Doctors, medical school students and people working in the health sector were found to account from between 30 percent and 50 percent of smokers.
The move to raise tobacco tariffs has been the topic of discussion by the ministers in previous conferences. In their last year’s conference they asked their governments to implement the GCC’s recommendation to increase the customs duties on tobacco and its derivatives to 150 percent.
The decision was supported by an extraordinary meeting of the executive authorities as a prelude to the conference.
Qatari health officials said the decision has not been implemented due to the “manipulations by multinational companies who succeeded in pressuring the GCC governments against the tax increase”.
With an estimated six million smokers among Saudis and expatriates, the Kingdom ranks fourth in the world in terms of the import and consumption of tobacco. Smokers spend up to SR1 billion ($267 million) annually on buying cigarettes and tobacco. Riyadh alone accounts for 35 percent of the Kingdom’s total cigarette consumption.
Despite both official and private efforts to combat the habit, an estimated 23,000 people die annually in Saudi Arabia of smoking-related diseases, according to published figures.
Efforts are under way at both government and private levels to combat the menace. The Council of Ministers introduced legislation banning smoking in public buildings and places, especially in facilities near mosques, as well as in ministries and in health, education, sport and cultural institutions and public transport.
The law puts a fine of SR200 on violators. Cultivating and processing tobacco and its products is punishable by a fine of SR20,000. The proceeds from the fines will be used to finance awareness campaigns and encourage private anti-smoking societies.
Sulaiman Al-Sabi, chairman of the Saudi Anti-Smoking Society (SASS), said tens of thousands of smokers gave up the habit after visiting the anti-smoking clinics it runs in major cities. In the Riyadh clinic alone, more than 10,000 smokers quit smoking after receiving treatment.
The Kingdom lacks specialized clinics for treating women smokers, but Al-Sabi said they have opened a clinic in Riyadh run by specialized female staff. The GCC ministers also decided to pursue a demand banning ads of tobacco products, especially in sports competitions and television serials.
