The tax hike came just before the announcement of the World Health Organization’s “3 by 35” initiative, where it urged all nations to increase real prices on tobacco, alcohol, and sugary drinks by at least 50% by 2035 to combat rising rates of noncommunicable diseas-es such as cancer, diabetes, and heart disease.

Uganda’s Ministry of Finance said its move aims to reduce tobacco consumption, protect public health, and raise revenue for healthcare and development.

The post Uganda Ups Cigarette Taxes first appeared on Tobacco Reporter.

Most of Luxembourg’s €1.4 billion in 2024 tobacco tax revenue came from foreign buyers, with less than 5% of the tobacco sold in the nation consumed locally. Currently, packs of cigarettes in Luxembourg cost less than €6, far below prices in neighboring France (€13) and the Netherlands (€10), attracting cross-border shoppers and smugglers.

Though not yet formalized, the WHO’s calls for price hikes on harmful products by 2035 would raise Luxembourg’s prices €3.50 per pack of cigarettes, or 60%. RTL Today said Luxembourg’s Finance Ministry is monitoring the situation.

The post EU Trying to Stop “Tobacco Tourism” first appeared on Tobacco Reporter.

For fiscal year 2024–25, WHO estimated cigarette production in Pakistan reached 37 billion sticks, generating Rs 208 billion ($728 million) in FED revenue. With excise duty unchanged, cigarette output is projected to rise to 38 billion sticks in 2025–26, yielding Rs 217.6 billion ($762 million) in revenue.

WHO says a Rs 39 ($0.14) per pack FED increase would reduce smoking by 10.7%, lower production to approximately 34 billion sticks, and increase revenues by 20.9%.

The post WHO Wants Pakistan to Raise Cigarette Taxes first appeared on Tobacco Reporter.

The protest is part of the “Voices Unheard—Consumers Matter!” campaign, launched as delegates gathered inside to discuss the future of tobacco control without meaningful input from the consumers who are most impacted by these policies.

Michael Landl, Director of the World Vapers’ Alliance, said outdated, ideologically driven policies, often influenced by powerful interests like Michael Bloomberg, threaten to reverse progress in reducing smoking rates. “Safer nicotine alternatives have the potential to save millions of lives, but only if they are supported by sensible, evidence-based regulation. We cannot afford to let ideology stand in the way of real progress,” he said.

The campaign comes at a time when the World Health Organization is pushing for sweeping bans on flavored nicotine products, including e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches. Such measures would remove vital tools from adults seeking to quit smoking and could drive many back to combustible tobacco.

The post WCTC Gets Protestors Wanting Input first appeared on Tobacco Reporter.

Earlier this week, a delegation from the WHO FCTC Knowledge Hub met with Checheybayev to present the TETSiM simulation model, an analytical tool demonstrating how raising excise taxes can both reduce tobacco consumption and increase government revenue. The discussion focused on strategies to reduce tobacco affordability and consumption through effective taxation measures. “Despite the public health burden, Kyrgyzstan’s current tobacco excise tax remains below 50% of the retail price of cigarettes, significantly lower than the WHO-recommended threshold of 75% or more,” The Times of Central Asia said. 

The post Kyrgyz Health Minister Proposes Raising Tobacco Taxes first appeared on Tobacco Reporter.

The provision for withholding tax rates under Section 153 of the Income Tax Ordinance will be changed to charge the new tax on the gross amount of payment received by distributors when they hand over cigarette sticks to retailers.

It was previously reported that Pakistan’s government was facing pressure from the World Health Organization to increase its FED further.

The post Pakistan Increases Tobacco Tax 240% first appeared on Tobacco Reporter.

A 2023 report by the Vietnam Health Economics Association estimated that the total cost of tobacco-related healthcare and economic losses reached 108 trillion VND ($4.14 billion) annually, equivalent to 1.14% of GDP and five times higher than the budget revenue generated by the tobacco industry. The report also said cigarettes are too accessible, with 40 domestic tobacco brands selling for less than 10,000 VND (38 cents) per pack.

The draft amendment being considered in the June session proposes two options: Introducing a fixed tax of 2,000 VND (8 cents) per pack in 2027 or introducing a fixed tax of 5,000 VND (19 cents) per pack in 2026. Both would increase annually until reaching 10,000 VND and 15,000 VND (57 cents) per pack, respectively, by 2031. According to officials, the second, higher-taxed option would generate an annual additional 29 trillion VND ($1.1 billion) in 2030, an increase of 169% compared to scenarios without tax increases, and make the tax rate 59.4% of the retail price.

The post Vietnam Considering Large Tobacco Tax Hikes first appeared on Tobacco Reporter.

“The WHO dismisses adult smokers and vapers, even though adults bear the vast majority of tobacco-related harm,” said Martin Cullip, International Fellow at the Taxpayers Protection Alliance. “It’s odd to see the organization celebrate bans on products that aren’t even made from tobacco.”

Participants from Australia, South Africa, and the United Kingdom argued that the WHO’s prohibitionist approach is counterproductive, exacerbating smoking-related deaths and fueling black markets.

“Australia has a massive black market and 66 people die daily from smoking-related disease,” said Pippa Starr, founder of A.L.I.V.E. (Australia, Let’s Improve Vaping Education). “These outcomes are tied to WHO-endorsed policies. Rather than reward failed approaches, the WHO should be focused on saving lives.”

Panelists emphasized the contradiction in the WHO’s mission: while claiming to reduce tobacco deaths, it continues to oppose safer alternatives proven to help smokers quit.

“WHO policies are scripted and disconnected,” said Kurt Yeo, co-founder of South Africa’s Vaping Saved My Life (VSML). “We need a full range of tools to achieve a smoke-free future. Prohibition has failed in countries like Mexico, India, and Singapore. The WHO isn’t facing the real issues.”

The group urged the WHO and FCTC to embrace innovation, listen to consumers, and support harm reduction as a legitimate path to ending the global smoking epidemic.

“Harm reduction works,” Reem Ibrahim, communications manager at the UK’s Institute of Economic Affairs, said. “These products help people quit. But the WHO’s strategy blocks access and ultimately harms public health.”

The post Global Experts Warn WHO’s Anti-Harm Reduction Stance Undermines Goals first appeared on Tobacco Reporter.

The rebuke coincided with the upcoming WHO’s World No Tobacco Day on May 30, which CAPHRA claims weaponizes misinformation to justify prohibitionist policies.

“The WHO’s ‘Health For All’ mantra rings hollow when it dismisses vaping’s life-saving potential,” said Nancy Loucas, CAPHRA’s Executive Coordinator. “Their 2025 theme masks a dangerous agenda: protecting cigarette markets by vilifying harm reduction.” 

Loucas condemned WHO’s exclusion of consumer advocates from COP10 talks. “Silencing experts while citing debunked ‘gateway’ theories exposes their fear of facts,” she said. She highlighted stark contrasts as UK youth smoking halved to 3.6% since 2012 under regulated vaping, while Maldives’ vaping ban saw youth smoking rise 12%. 

“Vaping is 95% safer than smoking, a fact repeatedly proven, and has contributed to a fast declining smoking rate in countries where it is regulated, that WHO ignores to appease anti-nicotine ideologues,” Loucas said. “This isn’t public health. It’s prohibitionist theatre that sacrifices smokers’ lives.

“The WHO equates vaping with smoking, yet 82 million ex-smokers globally prove otherwise. Their 1980s-style fearmongering helps nobody but cigarette traders. This World Vape Day, we demand the WHO stop lying. Regulate vaping strictly, educate honestly, and watch smoking collapse. The UK model works. Ideological bans kill.” 

The post CAPHRA Condemns WHO’s Anti-Science Agenda on World Vape Day  first appeared on Tobacco Reporter.

At every turn, a new opinion emerges, demonizing brands for developing flavored products, to, as they say: market to those underage—often based on the notion of a “hidden agenda.” Let’s be clear: these products are created exclusively for adult consumers.

This year, the World Health Organization (WHO) is using World No Tobacco Day 2025 to push the go-to ‘anti flavor’ agenda on nicotine products. Huge surprise to no one. The claim is that they’re part of an industry ploy to attract children. The slogan—Bright Product. Dark Intentions. Unmasking the Appeal—is both misleading and dangerous. And the question we ask ourselves: to what end?

What those who are committed to this rhetoric seem to forget is that regulatory bodies have implemented strict guidelines to ensure the opposite of this mythical ‘hidden agenda’. As compliant and responsible brands, we walk a tight rope every day. Transparency is built into every layer of the industry—from marketing communications in earned, paid, and owned channels to prominent warning labels and full ingredient disclosure. The real unknown is the unchecked rise of illicit products flooding the market. Much like alcohol, flavors are not a tool for targeting youth. The logical step forward is to adopt consistent age verification measures—at both the federal and state levels—to prevent underage access.

WHO’s Campaign Ignores Science and Reality

WHO, like many other one-sided anti-tobacco organizations, paints all flavored nicotine products with the same broad brush, ignoring clear distinctions with those developed as alternatives to help adults move away from smoking. The truth is, flavored alternatives have proven to be a strong contributor to the harm reduction movement, helping millions of smokers transition away from deadly combustible tobacco.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized certain nicotine products to be marketable as a risk-reduced alternative, as part of its harm-reduction strategy, finally listening to and acknowledging the science we’ve known for years. Yet the flavor-ban fight continues, contradicting this approach.

The Real Problem: Access, Not Flavors

It begs repeating: Flavors weren’t made for kids—they were made for adults seeking an alternative to smoking. We have seen the news cycle recently, offering reports on the marginal increase in underage usage, a problem we can all agree on. But to be clear, kids don’t get access because of peach or watermelon flavor names—they get access because standardized age-verification policies present with other categories and industries are absent, so the next best thing is to ban.

How it should be:

• Stronger and standardized age verification measures for all nicotine sales.
• Ban proxy sales to minors.
• Strict penalties for non-compliant retailers.

Bans Hurt Public Health—and Help Illicit Markets

Flavor bans don’t stop youth—they just drive demand underground. Meanwhile, they strip adults of their right to choose alternatives and damage legitimate businesses.

Restricting the appeal of reduced-risk products won’t stop young people from experimenting—it will just make quitting harder for adults and push both into more dangerous behaviors.

WHO Has It Wrong. States Must Lead.

WHO’s 2025 campaign is focused on the wrong enemy and the rhetoric continues to erode years of research and drive fear. Instead of condemning flavors, they should be calling for smarter and tighter regulations that keep products out of underage hands—not banning tools that help adults quit smoking.

Public health isn’t advanced by moral panic. It’s advanced by policy that works.

The post Opinion: WHO Is Wrong on Flavors — It’s Time to Stand Up for Harm Reduction and Common Sense first appeared on Tobacco Reporter.