No decision on cigarette import licenses yet

Friday, 14 June 2019 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol (NATA) maintains that there is no change to the Government’s policy on tobacco control, despite the Finance Minister’s proposal to allow cigarette imports. NATA Chairman Dr. Palitha Abeykoon, told the Daily FT that he had held several discussions in this regard with the Health Minister and made several representations to the Treasury, whilst there has been no official response from the latter. However, no import licenses have been granted yet, the Chairman said. Last month, the Minister of Finance sprung a surprise when he announced the Government was considering allowing cigarette imports to benefit expatriates – especially Chinese – an announcement that came ironically on World No Tobacco Day. With just 6,000 Chinese workers in the country, questions have been raised if it is prudent to relax tobacco imports into the country, given the potential resultant revenue loss due to growth in smuggling, which could top Rs. 20 billion. Abeykoon added that import licenses are highly unwarranted at this point in time, when there was still room for further controls especially in the area of price. Incidentally, the Ministry of Health, NATA and the World Health Organization will host a program in Colombo next week on Tobacco and Lung Health to mark World No Tobacco Day. In developed markets, governments are looking at less harmful alternatives and innovative new products as means for tobacco control or reducing smoking, whilst Sri Lanka is still looking at growing its cigarette market by allowing imports.

Discover Kapruka, the leading online shopping platform in Sri Lanka, where you can conveniently send Gifts and Flowers to your loved ones for any event including Valentine ’s Day. Explore a wide range of popular Shopping Categories on Kapruka, including Toys, Groceries, Electronics, Birthday Cakes, Fruits, Chocolates, Flower Bouquets, Clothing, Watches, Lingerie, Gift Sets and Jewellery. Also if you’re interested in selling with Kapruka, Partner Central by Kapruka is the best solution to start with. Moreover, through Kapruka Global Shop, you can also enjoy the convenience of purchasing products from renowned platforms like Amazon and eBay and have them delivered to Sri Lanka.