Right Time To Break JV Partnership Of Tobacco Industry & Anti-Tobacco Cell In Pakistan

As we all know that Pakistan’s federal budget for the fiscal year 2019-20 is around the corner. However, as seen for the previous 5 to 7 years, the media guns that blow in favor and against the tobacco industry are active this year too, thus to manipulate the health and revenue policy elite, their way.

Mediums such as social and print, now-a-days, are bombarded with a number of pushed articles followed by unlimited comments and tweets, in which media minds of both the sides, pro and anti, are justifying their job. However, according to our research, it is not as simple as it is shown to us, the general public!

As keen observers of the issues revolving around tobacco. Healthtech4u.com, has witnessed that before every budget, both Ministry of National Health Services, Regulation & Coordination (NHSRC) and the multinational tobacco industry in Pakistan perform Haka (A dance that mocks war) by engaging every possible medium to show that it’s a do or die year. Health Ministry shows that its serious to implement FCTC protocols and Tobacco industry shows that if any more regulations are introduced, the multinational tobacco will pack off from Pakistan.

It is very well known to most of us that are diligently observing tobacco and anti-tobacco industry since years that Ministry of NHSRC has to fulfill the regulations for which it had agreed by signing into FCTC. Our health ministry is fully supported by local NGOs that gets fund from various international donors for advocacy.

Pakistani tobacco industry, on the other side, is truly dominated by two major multi-national players who know the art of policy influence by using various tactics. These tactics involve direct engagement with government officials, sponsoring research studies that reinforce their position on taxation and regulations and advertisements to project these studies.

PM’s focal person for Tobacco Control hit the media headlines with an announcement that the tobacco industry will be pushed to increase the size of graphic health warning on cigarette pack to 60% from the June 2019. The fact that that it was mutually agreed between both the stakeholders(Ministry of Health and the Tobacco Industry) during last year negotiations was conveniently glossed over .

It has also been noticed for years that the big tobacco players generally engage third parties like office-bearers of retailer’s association of Pakistan, so-called farmer’s association and chamber of agriculture etc. to convey their position indirectly. On investigation, to our surprise, it was further revealed that most of these bodies don’t even exist anywhere in Pakistan.

Big money also buys big influence. A. F. Ferguson & Co. which is one of the leading public accounting, business advisory and corporate services firms in Pakistan is the chartered auditor of one of the two multinational tobacco players for the last 10 years. Industry is well aware of the association of current Chairman FBR Syed Shabbar Zaidi with this audit firm. Kamran Y. Mirza who is an Independent Director in the BoDs of the discussed multinational tobacco player had a long association with Ferguson.

Another way through which these multinational tobacco players manipulate the situation in their way is they spend millions of rupees to conduct surveys through renowned international survey firms and to bring detailed report in which the survey firms smartly twist the facts according to the wish of the investor. Asia Illicit Tobacco Indicator, a report published by the Oxford Economics is one of many examples which was widely quoted in most of the articles published in print media.

It has been noticed while observing the trends of smoking incidence globally that it declines when cigarette prices go up. We have number of such examples available to rely upon. “If the authorities really want to tighten noose around this JV partnership of policy makers and big tobacco, taxes and different duties on cigarettes should be increased prominently beside removal of third-tier of tax slab which directly is favoring big tobacco.