Economists and health specialists urge inflation-linked increases and environmental levy to curb smoking and pollution
ISLAMABAD: Economists, public health specialists and environmental experts have called on the government to end the ongoing freeze on tobacco taxation, introduce annual inflation-linked tax increases and impose a climate levy on the tobacco industry to address rising health and environmental costs.
The demand was made during a policy dialogue titled “The Cost of Inaction: Tobacco Tax Freeze in Pakistan’s 2026-27 Budget”, jointly organised by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) and the Social Policy and Development Centre (SPDC).
