Khan, Amina, Dobbie, Fiona, Siddiqi, Kamran orcid.org/0000-0003-1529-7778 et al. (10 more authors) (2022) Illicit Cigarette Trade in the Cities of Pakistan:Comparing Findings between the Consumer and Waste Recycle Store Surveys. Tobacco Control. pp. 635-641. ISSN 1468-3318
Abstract
Background Concerns about the magnitude of illicit cigarette trade have prevented the Government of Pakistan from increasing tobacco taxes. We estimated the proportion of illicit cigarettes sold in Pakistani cities. Moreover, we compared two methods for collecting cigarette packs and investigated if the illicit cigarette trade equates to tax evasion. Method We analysed cigarette packs collected from 10 cities of Pakistan using two methods: consumer survey based on a two-stage random sampling strategy to recruit adult smokers and photograph their cigarette packs and waste recycle store survey to purchase used cigarette packs. Cigarettes were considered illicit if any one of the following was absent from their packs: text and pictorial health warning, underage sale prohibition warning, retail price and manufacturer’s name. From the consumer survey, we also estimated the proportion of smokers who purchased loose cigarettes (illegal) and packs below the minimum retail price. Taxation officers (n=4) were consulted to assess their level of confidence in judging tax evasion using the above criteria. Results Out of 2416 cigarette packs in the consumer survey, 454 (17.8%; 95% CI 15.4% to 20.2%) were illicit. Similarly, out of 6213 packs from waste recycle shops, 1046 (16.8%; 95% CI 15.9% to 17.7%) were illicit; the difference was not statistically significant (p=0.473). Among consumers, 29.5% bought loose cigarettes and 13.8% paid less than the minimum retail price. The taxation officers considered the manufacturer’s name and retail price on cigarette packs as the most relevant criteria to detect tax evasion. Conclusions One in six cigarette packs consumed in Pakistan could be illicit. These figures are far less than those propagated by the tobacco industry. Collecting packs from waste recycle stores is an efficient and valid method to estimate illicit cigarette trade.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2021. This is an author-produced version of the published paper. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher’s self-archiving policy. Further copying may not be permitted; contact the publisher for details |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of York |
Academic Units: | The University of York > Faculty of Sciences (York) > Hull York Medical School (York) The University of York > Faculty of Sciences (York) > Health Sciences (York) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number MEDICAL RESEARCH COUNCIL (MRC) MR/P027946/2 |
Depositing User: | Pure (York) |
Date Deposited: | 23 Mar 2021 17:20 |
Last Modified: | 21 Nov 2024 00:43 |
Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2020-056386 |
Status: | Published |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2020-056386 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:172481 |
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