TAX AND MEND: THE DAWN OF A NEW ERA FOR PUBLIC HEALTH
▶ Levies on tobacco products and sugary drinks which take effect on Sunday promise to make the country fitter
Smokers and lovers of sugary drinks will find their wallets significantly lighter this Sunday – but will hopefully emerge much healthier and fitter as a result.
In a landmark move, the price of tobacco products and caffeinated drinks is to double with the introduction of what has been labelled a “sin tax”, while sugary soft drinks will be subject to a 50 per cent increase in excise.
The Government hopes pushing up prices will encourage people to turn away from unhealthy products such as cigarettes and fizzy drinks, which place a heavy burden on the health service and contribute significantly to diseases like diabetes and cancer.
The new taxes will also contribute millions of dirhams to the budget and will be followed by the introduction of VAT of 5 per cent on many products and services in the new year.
Prices of tobacco products and sugar-laden drinks in the region have long been among the lowest in the world.
The new excise charges will push the price of a can of cola to Dh2.25, while the more expensive brands of cigarettes will rise to around Dh22 for a pack of 20, although this is still significantly cheaper than many industrialised countries.
Doctors have welcomed the move, but warn that smokers in higher income brackets may not be deterred by paying more for their habit.
“Price is not an issue for long term smokers who are addicted but it may help those on lower incomes to give up smoking,” said Dr Mohamed Maki Shalal, head of accident and emergency at the Canadian Specialist Hospital in Dubai.
“A tobacco tax is a sign that the approach towards smoking is changing, that is positive.”
Hospitals and clinics have called for extra revenue generated by new taxes to be spent on awareness programmes in schools and to improve support for those wanting to quit smoking. When the announcement was made, Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Minister of Finance and Chairman of the Federal Tax Authority, said the new prices would be good for residents and the environment.
“This tax is set to discourage the consumption of products that negatively impact the environment and, more importantly, people’s health,” he said.
Doctors in the UAE are refusing to support e-cigarettes to help smokers quit, despite UK health authorities backing the devices for the first time in the annual Stoptober campaign.
As a 100 per cent tax on cigarettes comes into force on Sunday, new draft guidance from the UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence says patients should be told e-cigarettes can help those wanting to give up.
It is still illegal to sell e-cigarettes in the UAE, but only 5 per cent of smokers manage to quit without medication or some other form of help.
Health authorities have demanded more conclusive research proving their safety and effectiveness as a less harmful alternative to cigarettes before any policy change.
“We are still unsure of the safety of e-cigarettes and it will take some time before we can support their use,” said Dr Hassan Razein, a respiratory specialist at Zulekha Hospital.
“Some producers claim nicotine levels in their e-cigarette devices are substantially less than in cigarettes. Because of the toxicity, we cannot support their use or recommend them to help smokers to quit.”
Zulekha Hospital offers group therapy, medicine and nicotine replacement gums or sprays for smokers wanting to quit. Doctors said smokers must be committed to follow a full programme and would struggle with willpower alone.
Long-term smokers who kick the habit can expect their health to recover reasonably quickly but they will still be susceptible to serious associated illnesses such as lung cancer and cardiovascular disease.
“Once smokers stop, their body begins to recover almost immediately but long-term recovery can take up to two years,” Dr Razein said.
He said the tobacco tax would do little to deter smokers in a wealthy country where prices will remain relatively low.
“Price is not an issue for long-term smokers who are addicted but it may help those on lower incomes,” Dr Razein said. “It’s a sign the approach towards smoking is changing, which is positive.”
The fifth World Tobacco Atlas says an average of 27 people in the UAE die each week from tobacco-related diseases. The current rate of smoking is 24.3 per cent among males and 0.8 per cent among women.
Medwakh and shisha continue to be popular and also pose a significant risk.
Doctors at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi were also unwilling to support e-cigarettes.
“When it comes to smoking, there is no safer option other than quitting entirely,” said Dr Iyaad Hasan.
“A lot of people pin their hopes on this kind of alternative because they take the place of a habit that’s embedded in people’s lives.
“Although research is still ongoing in relation to e-cigarettes, research has demonstrated that the chemical content in them, although maybe lower than a traditional cigarette, is still harmful.
“The fact is these substances were never meant to be in the human body in the first place.”
Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi’s stop smoking programme follows smokers from their decision to quit through to life after smoking, customising programmes for each person.
University College London researchers found 20 per cent of attempts to quit were successful in the first six months of this year, compared with an average of 16 per cent over the previous 10 years.
Of the one in 20 people over 16 who regularly uses e-cigarettes in the UK, a quarter are smokers or former smokers.
A ban on advertising and smoking inside, standardised packaging and high taxation are said to be behind the growing numbers in the UK trying to kick the habit.
“Some smokers are able to stop on their own but very few,” said Dr Mohamed Maki Shalal, of Canadian Specialist Hospital in Dubai. “Smoking is a strong habit and an addiction that is hard to break.
“People think e-cigarettes are harmless but we know they are chemicals so there will be problems with them in future.”
These substances were never meant to be in the human body DR IYAAD HASAN Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi