The Vision for Alternative Development – Ghana (VALD-Ghana), an NGO, has recommended the implementation of robust code of conduct by the Ministry of Health (MOH) to safeguard public health policies from tobacco industry interference.
It noted that persistent industry interference in Ghana’s public health polices, as seen in the Tobacco Industry Interference Index, was an impediment to the effective implementation of tobacco control measures.
That, in effect, had undermined the nation’s public health goals, it said.
VALD Ghana observed this during the passage of the Excise Duty Amendment Act 2023 (Act 1093), a critical legislation to transition the country to a hybrid tax regime for tobacco products.
In a policy brief, titled: “Protecting Public Health: Safeguarding Ghana’s Tobacco Taxation and Regulation from Industry Influence”, copied to the Ghana New Agency, the NGO called on stakeholders to review the inclusion of tobacco as excisable product.
The stakeholders, it said, include the Ministry of Health, Ghana Revenue Authority, Food and Drugs Authority, WHO Ghana, and civil society organisations, which should urgently meet to review the inclusion of cigarette as an excisable product, contrary to the Public Health Act (Act 851).
The policy brief revealed intricate network of industry-allied groups focused on misinforming the public against raising tobacco taxes and the active promotion of e-cigarettes through a comprehensive and elusive approach.
“These industry strategies threaten Ghana’s public health priorities, necessitating immediate action to safeguard these critical public health policies from tobacco industry interests.”
“Despite the gains that Ghana has made in relation to tobacco tax, the industry continues to undermine public health efforts,” it stated.
It said the shift from ad valorem to specific or hybrid tobacco tax regimes had been successfully implemented in various counties, significantly reducing tobacco-related morbidity and mortality, consumption among the youth, and increasing government revenue.
“For example, Rwanda adopted an ad valorem tax based on the CIF or ex-factory price between 2001 and June 2015 and later supplemented it with a specific excise tax in July 2015.”
“This modification in the tax policy was associated with a decrease in the consumption of tobacco products.”
“In Colombia, tripling of the specific tax rate for cigarettes from 2016 to 2018 led to a 34 per cent reduction in consumption and doubled excise tax revenues earmarked for universal health coverage.”
The policy brief noted that tobacco remained an alarming public health challenge, globally, with the tobacco industry interfering in countries’ implementation of evidence-based policies to reduce its use.
This is outlined in the World Health Organisation Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) – a global health treaty that Ghana ratified in 2004.
As outlined in the FCTC Article ‘6’ agreed by experts, raising tobacco taxes is a highly effective strategy for reducing its use and its harmful consequences.
“Structuring of tobacco excise taxes directly affects cigarette prices, their variation and further affects the smoking behaviour of people, thus promoting tobacco control measure.”
GNA
