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Cigarette imports under fire: Health Minister warns of grave consequences
View(s):A decision to allow the import of cigarettes could have grave consequences as they are cheaper and will drive more people, especially youths, to become addicted, Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne has warned.
He told the the Sunday Times that Chinese cigarettes were being smuggled into the country by Chinese workers and sold in the illicit market. If the import was legalised, it would encourage more people to buy them, as they would be cheaper than the local brands, he said.
“We came to power saying that we would follow an-anti smoking policy. By allowing foreign cigarettes to be sold in the country, I am not about to surrender that policy and the improvements made by the government in reducing the number of smokers,” Dr. Senaratne said.
He said the World Health Organisation and other international bodies had commended Sri Lanka’s anti-smoking policy. The progress Sri Lanka has made would be lost if the import of cigarettes was allowed, the minister noted.
The Excise Department, though, claims that legalising the cigarette imports would help regulate their inflow, given that large stocks are being smuggled into the country illegally. A tax can also be imposed on foreign cigarettes to discourage their use, the department noted.
Deputy Excise Commissioner Kapila Kumarasinghe said Chinese cigarettes were being smuggled into the country by Chinese workers, while local businessmen were involved in the illegal import of other foreign cigarettes.
“We don’t know the companies which manufacture them. We don’t even know the contents of the cigarettes. These cigarettes, however, end up in shops and with smugglers. Both Customs and Excise officials conduct raids and impose fines exceeding the value of the consignments, but the problem persists,” he explained.
Another Excise official said that expensive foreign cigarettes could be found at casinos and clubs. They are not distributed by the casinos or clubs, but some of those who visit these places carry foreign cigarettes, he said.
Meanwhile, issuing a statement, the Alcohol and Drug Information Centre (ADIC) pointed out that the Governmenthad invested considerable amount of resources to prevent tobacco use over the past five years, by developing policies, formulating regulations, enforcing the law and adopting community level interventions.