Merchants and wholesalers in Pakistan have noticed a decrease in cigarette sales after the cost of cigarette packs went up due to a tax increase, reports the Daily Times.

Low cigarette prices have played a big part in tobacco sales and consumption in Pakistan but since the recent tax hike that led to cigarette prices increasing tobacco consumption seems to have dropped. Retailers and wholesalers welcomed the tax hike saying it was important for the government to protects its citizens from the harmful consequences of smoking.
“Though it is a business loss for me but this continues to campaign for tighter tobacco control regulations to further reduce smoking rates in Pakistan,” said Shafiq Ahmed, a seller in Islamabad.
According to the Daily Times, the government has issued a Statutory Regulatory Order (SRO) to increase Federal Excise Duty (FED) meaning Pakistan could now inflate the national budget by billions of rupees as a result of this endeavour.
Smoking is a serious problem in Pakistan so the move has been seen by most as a step in the right direction towards promoting public health by curbing tobacco use. The government’s initiative to raise taxes by about 150 per cent is one of the largest in Pakistani history, reports the Daily Times.