Price hike may reduce smokers: BHP(The China Post)
發佈日期： 2013-06-03
TAIPEI, Taiwan -- The number of smokers would drop by 740,000 if the price for a pack of cigarettes were increased by NT$25, according to the Bureau of Health Promotion (BHP).
BHP Director-General Chiou Shu-Ti (邱淑媞) said yesterday that if 740,000 people quit smoking due to the higher tobacco price, about 370,000 people’s lives would be saved.
Lin Ching-li (林清麗), chief of the John Tung Foundation’s tobacco control division, said that the government should revise the Tobacco Hazards Prevention Act completely instead of only focusing on the tobacco surcharge.
“It is right to increase the tobacco price in order to lower the amount of tobacco sold,” Lin said, “which helps lower the smoking rate.”
“However, the Ministry of Economic Affairs has not increased the tobacco tax in the past 26 years while Hong Kong has increased the tobacco surcharge eight times in the past few years,” said Lin.
Both Lin and Chiou were against some lawmakers’ proposals to decide the tax charged for each pack of cigarettes depending on its price.
“If this policy is executed,” Lin said, “it will increase the price gap between cheap cigarettes and expensive cigarettes.”
“That policy will not benefit the health of people who are financially disadvantaged or help with the promotion of tobacco hazard prevention,” said Chiou.
Split Opinions from Lawmakers
Kuomintang lawmaker Tsai Cheng-yuan (蔡正元) said that due to the economic recession that Taiwan is experiencing now, it is not the best time to increase tobacco prices.
“The BHP should not treat the tobacco surcharge fund as its own bank account and increase the tobacco surcharge when the bank account is empty, which makes people question where the tobacco will surcharge really goes.”
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chen Ou-po (陳歐珀) said that no matter whether the government increases the tobacco surcharge or tobacco tax, both will lead to dispute.
“It is more important to establish a complete system regarding the tobacco price instead of continuing to discuss the amount that the tobacco price should be increased,” said Chen.
Chiou, however, said that tobacco is not essential for people’s daily lives, and that maintaining the habit of smoking will not help people save money during an economic recession.
“The price for tobacco in Taiwan is too cheap compared to the price in other countries,” Chiou said, “so the BHP hopes the public can support the policy to increase the tobacco surcharge.”
