Vision for Alternative Development (VALD), a non-governmental organisation, has launched the Rapid Study of Tobacco Industry Interference in the Passage of the Excise Duty Amendment Act 2023.
The policy brief and study hinged on protecting public health and safeguarding Ghana’s tobacco policy and regulation from industry influence.
The policy brief is focused on strategies and tactics employed by the tobacco industry and its allies to influence the passage of Ghana’s Excise Duty Amendment Act, 2023 (Act 1093).
It also outlines an intricate network of industry-allied groups aimed at misinforming the public against raising tobacco taxes and the active promotion of e-cogs through a comprehensive and elusive approach.
According to the study, these industry strategies threaten Ghana’s public health, necessitating immediate action to safeguard these critical public health policies from tobacco industry interests.
Speaking at the launch, the lead researcher of the study, Darlington Logo, noted that despite the gains that Ghana has made with tobacco tax, the tobacco industry continues to undermine public health efforts.
He explained that, as outlined in WHO FCTC Article 6 and agreed by experts, raising tobacco taxes is a highly effective strategy for reducing tobacco use and its harmful consequences, adding that the structuring of tobacco taxes also decreases tobacco companies’ profits, so it is a tobacco control measure that industry players aggressively oppose.
What is the problem?
The study identified persistent industry interference in Ghana’s public health policies as a significant impediment that the tobacco industry poses to the effective implementation of tobacco control measures, which in effect undermines the nation’s public health goals.
This interference was observed during the recent passage of the Excise Duty Amendment Act 2023, a critical legislation to transition Ghana to a hybrid tax regime for tobacco products.
Furthermore, the study found that to weaken the effectiveness of taxation on tobacco products, the tobacco industry establishes and employs strategies to circumvent and undermine tax policies, including legal challenges, direct lobbying, and indirect interference via third parties.
They successfully utilise arguments that exploit concerns about the political economy of taxation while historically being found complicit in tax avoidance, smuggling, and bribery.
The study further revealed that the tobacco industry often collaborates with third-party organizations to advance their interest.
In Ghana, organizations like the American Chambers of Commerce Ghana, the Harm Reduction Alliance of Ghana (HRAG), and the Institute of Liberty, Policy, and Innovation (ILAPI) have been identified to have played roles in promoting industry interest and delaying the swift passage of the Act in the country, the report said.
It said the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) exaggerated the negative economic impact of the proposed tax policy by citing potential job losses (labour concerns) and the high possibility of total business shutdowns, downplaying the significance of excise taxes.
The study also identified the British American Tobacco (BAT) and other industry-allied organizations as those that pushed for the inclusion of e-cigarettes in the Excise Amendment Act alleging that these bodies framed e-cigarettes as safer smoking alternatives despite the availability of evidence that indicated serious health risks associated with the product.
Recommendations
To prevent the tobacco industry from undermining the future, tobacco control efforts and implementing current policies, the study said, must be pursued.
Below are the recommendations:
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
