DUBAI, 19 May — Finance ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council states have rejected a proposal by health ministers of the six-nation group to increase tariff on tobacco imports to 150 percent from the current 100 percent. They said such a hike in tariff would encourage tobacco smuggling.
A high-level source told Arab News that the GCC financial cooperation committee, comprising ministers of finance and economy from the member states, meeting in Manama recently suggested the need to look for other alternatives to combat smoking.
The GCC, which groups Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, increased the tariff on tobacco imports to 100 percent in 1995. It also reduced nicotine content in tobacco and banned production of tobacco and its derivatives in the member states. The council has banned smoking on national air carriers on domestic and short-duration international flights.
The GCC health ministers during a recent meeting called for a tariff hike to 150 percent.
Saudi Arabia’s cigarette imports have declined considerably in recent years. It dropped from SR1.29 billion in 1991 to SR633 million in 1996. The government has stepped up the campaign against smoking by setting up a number of specialized clinics to help people kick the habit.
King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center in Riyadh has filed a case against tobacco companies demanding $10 billion in compensation for expenses incurred by the hospital for treating cancer patients.
According to the Charitable Society for Combating Smoking in the Kingdom, blood pressure and heart beats of a cigarette smoker will become normal when he quits smoking. It also said poisonous carbon dioxide would disappear from his blood eight hours after stopping the unhealthy habit. “If a smoker can stand 72 hours without smoking it would substantially improve his blood circulation,” the society said.
