Tobacco use costs Rs615b annually Islamabad April 29, 2021 Islamabad : The tobacco consumption is levying a burden of Rs615 billion per annum on the national exchequer in terms of economic and health costs as the smoking-attributable direct cost is 8.3 per cent of the total country’s health expenditure. Anti-smoking experts said this in a virtual launch of ‘Tobacco Tax Reforms Model in light of Health Cost Burden’ by the Society for Protection of Rights of the Child (SPARC) here on Wednesday. They said tobacco annihilates 1.6 per cent of GDP every year-taking out Rs615 billion from the economy as health cost. Addressing the participants, Malik Imran Ahmad, Country head Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids (CTFK) stated that the smoking-attributable direct cost is 8.3 per cent of the total health expenditures, which amounts to 1.6 per cent of Pakistan’s GDP. In comparison, the total tax contribution of tobacco industry (120 billion in 2019) is only around 20 per cent of the total cost of smoking.