Pursuits
Cigarette Smoking May Be Harmful to Pakistan's Fiscal Health
- About 1 in 4 cigarettes sold in Pakistan is illicit: Nielsen
- Philip Morris warns that legitimate tobacco industry at risk
A Pakistani man smokes a cigarette in Lahore on May 31, 2011, on 'World No Tobacco Day'. Pakistan accounts for a large proportion of the cigarettes consumed in South Asia where about 100,000 people die annually from diseases caused by the use of tobacco, reports the Coaltion of Tobacco Control in Pakistan. AFP PHOTO/ARIF ALI (Photo credit should read Arif Ali/AFP/Getty Images)
Photographer: Arif Ali/AFP via Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
To see why Pakistan’s revenues are in such bad shape, take a look at which cigarettes are flying off the shelves.
Local brands are starting to take away market share from rivals marketed by British American Tobacco Plc and Phillip Morris International Inc. The reason is simple: They cost less than the 36-rupee ($0.34) tax imposed on a legitimate pack of cigarettes.