http://www.asiantribune.com/node/88109
The Bangkok-based Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance (SEACTA) warns legislators and finance ministries against replying on this Manual which is being widely promoted by ITIC to ASEAN governments.
An academic review of the Manual’s section on tobacco taxation has revealed contradictions and inconsistencies when compared against international best practices and recommendations in the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) of the WHO – Article 6 guidelines on tobacco tax and price measures, which 180 governments worldwide have committed to implement.
Professor Hans Ross from the University of Cape Town, who reviewed the Manual said; “On the surface, the Manual and the WHO-FCTC Article 6 guidelines seem to be aligned on some issues. However, the main principles and views that the Manual promotes often contradict its analysis and recommendations.
It also runs contrary to international best practices on tobacco taxation outlined in the Article 6 guidelines of the WHO-FCTC.
Among the main faults of the Manual are the following;
The Manual fails to acknowledge the evidence and recommendations of the WHO-FCTC Article 6 guidelines on Price and Tax Measures to reduce the demand for tobacco that states Parties unanimously adopted in 2014.
The ITIC claims Indonesia has the lowest penetration of illicit tobacco products in another document, yet this Manual claims Indonesia is an example of a country with the highest taxes in terms of affordability, which according to the Manual, drives illicit trade in Indonesia.
The Manual warns against substantial tobacco tax increases, even if some countries in the ASEAN region and many others globally have successfully increased tax to reduce tobacco use while also boosting their tax revenues.
The affordability of cigarettes is driven not only by tobacco taxes, but also by the industry-set prices which the Manual conveniently does not address.
The Manual’s very strong opposition to tobacco tax earmarking sharply contrasts with the recommendations in WHO-FCTC Article 6 guidelines.
The Manual falsely claims that the tobacco industry’s system supposedly designed to deal with illicit trade is compliant with the WHO-FCTC Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products.
Professor Ross added; “Its estimates of illicit trade and the associated revenue losses are based on another ITIC report funded by the tobacco industry that has been discredited due to its methodological weakness, the use of unreliable data, biased conclusions, and abundance of mistakes and errors.”
“Given the vested interests of the transnational tobacco companies that fund ITIC and provided it with data, it is obvious that the manual cannot be trusted”, Ms. Sophapan Ratnachena, the Tobacco Program Manager of SEACTA.
She added; “ A tobacco tax roadmap developed in collaboration with the tobacco industry is a dangerous proposition for both tax revenue and public health. It is important that governments protect their public health policies, including tobacco taxation, from commercial and other vested interests of the tobacco industry.”