GRA urged to work extra to eliminate illicit trade in tobacco

Personnel of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) have been urged to work harder to eliminate illicit trade in tobacco products in the country to enhance revenue generation and protection of public health.

A study conducted by the School of Public Health at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (SPH-KNUST) revealed that trade in illicit tobacco products was high in the country, with the Tamale and Aflao markets topping.

This came to light at a workshop organised for GRA officers on the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products by the SPH-KNUST in collaboration with the Vision for Alternative Development and the Food and Drugs Authority.

It was to sharpen the officers’ skills in the protocol to effectively enforce the illicit tobacco laws at the country’s borders to plug the loopholes in tax revenue generation.

Divine Darlington Logo, the Principal Research Officer of Ghana Health Service, touching on the study, said one in five cigarettes sold in Ghana was illicit, and the sale of single sticks of cigarettes was 100 percent common on the markets.

“One in three retailers sold illicit packs, and close to half of illicit tobacco products originate from Togo,” he stated.

Dr Arti Singh of the SPH-KNUST said illicit tobacco trade refers to all illegal activities related to the tobacco trade, including the production, shipment, distribution, and sale or purchase of the product.

“The illegal activities increase the accessibility and affordability of tobacco products and cause substantial losses in government tax revenues and contribute to the funding of transnational criminal activities,” she said.

The protocol was the first of the World Health Organisation Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC), and its objective (Article 3) was to eliminate all forms of illicit trade in tobacco products through a package of measures.

It was developed in response to the growing international illicit trade in tobacco products; adopted by consensus on November 12, 2012, at the Fifth Session of the Conference of the Parties to the WHO FCTC and entered into force on September 25, 2018.

Currently, 68 countries have ratified the protocol, which helped in preventing illicit trade by securing the supply chain, Dr Singh said.

Dr Olivia Agyekumwaa Boateng, Director, Tobacco and Substances Abuse Directorate FDA, and Ghana WHO FCTC Focal Person, said tobacco control was a multi-faceted issue that needed every hand on board to deal with.

“Thankfully, we are making progress in the international space, and people are looking up to Ghana, but there is still more that we can do, so we need the support of all,” she added.

Dr Alex Moyem Kombat, Assistant Commissioner of Research and Policy GRA, said tobacco-related illnesses accounted for three percent of all deaths in the country and cost GH¢ 668 million every year, equivalent to 0.2 percent of annual GDP to take care of the diseases.

“GRA has made frantic efforts in tobacco control using taxes and put in place several measures to fight the illicit tobacco trade,” he said, adding: “Eliminating illegal importation of tobacco is a collective fight. Therefore, we must all put our hands on deck to fight the menace.”

Dr Kombat called for more resources, personnel, logistics, and equipment to fight the illicit trade while urging the construction of warehouses and inspection bays at the borders, strengthening of collaboration with state agencies and international bodies, and application of more technology to aid the fight.

Labram Musah, the Executive Director of Vision for Alternative Development, reiterated the call for earmarking some of the tax revenues from health-harming products to support health activities in the country.

He urged the GRA to inform the public of steps being undertaken to destroy confiscated illegal health products, especially the recently impounded GHc7.9 million worth of tobacco products, to avoid speculations.