Market & legal data in the tobacco alternatives sector in Pakistan

26th July 2024: Pakistan: The government of the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has passed the Excise Act of 2024. The act did not adopt the proposal for increasing the tax on oral tobacco (naswar), press reports. Currently, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government applies a cess of PKR2.50 ($0.009) per kg to naswar/snuff.
2nd July 2024: Pakistan: The Finance Act 2024 entered into force on 1st July, imposing an excise duty of PKR1,200 ($4.30) on nicotine pouches.
27th June 2024: Pakistan: The district government of Peshawar – the capital city of the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, with a population of over 4.7m – has imposed specific measures on the use, marketing, advertisement, and sale of nicotine pouches, press reports. The measures include a ban on the sale of nicotine pouches to under-21s, a ban on their usage in public places and on public transport, and a ban on their sale within 100 m of educational or health facilities or parks. These measures will remain in force for 60 days. Nicotine pouches are subject to general consumer protection laws in Pakistan.
17th June 2024: Pakistan: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has proposed a bill to amend the Federal Excise Act. The bill proposes levying an excise duty of PKR1,200 ($4.31) on nicotine pouches. Nicotine pouches are currently not subject to any excise duty.
30th April 2024: Pakistan: Muzammil Aslam, finance adviser to the chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, reported to the press that the province is considering increasing the tax established for oral tobacco (naswar) to PKR20 ($0.07) per kg. Oral tobacco is currently taxed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, one of the four Pakistan provinces, at a rate of PKR2.50 ($0.009) per kg, while it is subject to a specific excise tax at the national level.
31st August 2023: Pakistan: Experts and health advocates, such as the Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (SPARC), have urged the government to take immediate action and ban novel tobacco products, nicotine pouches and e-cigarettes, press reports. Malik Imran Ahmed, country head for Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids (CTFK), said that these products are being consumed by young people and that Pakistan should take measures as other countries have. Ziauddin Islam, former technical head of the Tobacco Control Cell at the Ministry of Health, also said that these products pose a risk to health and should be banned.
20th March 2023: Pakistan: During a seminar on the impact of nicotine and heated tobacco products on public health – held on 19th March in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province – Nek Dad, public health director of the Directorate General of Health Services, called for a restriction on the use and marketing of heated tobacco products, highlighting the need to educate the public on their potential harm, press reports.
20th February 2023: Pakistan: In response to the recent cigarette tax increase, the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) – an independent non-profit organisation – has said that the government should impose high taxes on heated tobacco and e-cigarettes, reiterating that increasing the taxes will result in reduced consumption and will help to fight the black market, press reports. Last Tuesday, 14th February, the government increased the general sales tax of standard cigarettes to 18% and the excise duty on cigarettes from PKR6.5 ($0.025) to PKR16.5 ($0.063) per cigarette – an increase of 153% – according to a local report.
9th August 2022: Pakistan: The Pakistan National Heart Association (PANAH) is urging the government to ban nicotine pouches, press reports. One of the country’s leading health bodies, PANAH, whose patron in chief is the president of Pakistan, has asked the government to withdraw the Velo brand from the market, arguing that nicotine pouches can increase blood pressure and can lead to heart disease, stroke, and oral cancer. The association also claims the British American Tobacco (BAT)-owned brand is being targeted at young people.
8th July 2022: Pakistan: The government has raised the threshold under which expensive cigarette brands are taxed at the same time it has raised the excise duty rate applicable, press reports. Ziauddin Islam, former tobacco control expert at the Ministry of Health, has criticised the measure, saying that it will lead to an increase in smoking prevalence since it is seen as a tax relief. Changes to the tax regime are not applicable to novel tobacco products such as heated tobacco. Previously, the excise duty was set at PKR1,650 (€7.50) per 1,000 cigarettes, if the retail price of the cigarettes was over PKR5,960 (€27.50) per 1,000 sticks. With the amendment, in order to apply the new excise duty of PKR1,850 (€8.50), the retail price of the cigarettes has to be more than PKR6,660 (€30.50) per 1,000 sticks.

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