Tobacco use in Pakistan is not just a public health crisis; it’s a massive drain on the national economy. The annual cost of diseases and deaths attributable to smoking is a staggering figure, dwarfing the tax revenue generated by the tobacco industry.
According to studies that examined the cost of smoking-attributable diseases and deaths:
Total Economic Cost: The total smoking-attributable economic cost of all diseases and deaths in Pakistan for the year 2018–2019 was estimated to be PKR 615.07 billion (approximately US$3.85 billion).
GDP Share: This immense cost was equal to about 1.6% of Pakistan’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Breakdown of Costs
The economic burden is composed of two main types of costs:
Indirect Costs (70% of the total): The majority of the cost, roughly 70%, comes from indirect costs like:
Lost productivity due to morbidity (illness).
Lost income and human capital due to premature mortality (deaths).
Direct Costs (Healthcare Expenditure): The remaining cost covers direct healthcare expenditure, which includes the cost of medicine, consultation fees, hospitalization, and transportation to health centers for treating tobacco-related illnesses.
The total direct and indirect cost for the three major diseases—cancer, cardiovascular disease, and respiratory disease—alone amounted to PKR 437.76 billion (approximately US$2.74 billion) in 2019.
The Disparity: Cost vs. Revenue
Perhaps the most alarming finding is the huge disparity between the money spent fighting tobacco-related diseases and the revenue the tobacco industry contributes to the national exchequer:
The estimated cost of PKR 615.07 billion (US$3.85 billion) in 2019 was over five times greater than the tax revenue collected from the tobacco industry, which was around PKR 120 billion in the same year.
In other words, the tax contribution from the tobacco sector was merely 20% of the total estimated economic and health cost it inflicts on the nation.
Who Bears the Burden?
Gender: Males bear the majority of the cost, accounting for about 77% of the total burden.
Age: The 35–64 years age group carries the largest share (86%).
Location: Residents in rural areas bear 61% of the total cost.
Why This Matters
The sheer magnitude of these figures underscores that tobacco use is a severe economic impediment to Pakistan’s development. The money spent on healthcare and lost productivity is money that could otherwise be invested in education, infrastructure, or other critical public services. These findings provide a strong case for policymakers to implement more effective tobacco control measures, particularly by significantly raising tobacco taxes to a level that at least covers the substantial economic and health damage caused by the industry.
Would you like to know about the specific types of tobacco-related diseases that contribute most to this massive cost?
