Burning More Than Lungs: How Tobacco Consumption is Draining About Ȼ700M from Ghana’s Coffers Annually

It is not only the health of the consumers of tobacco and tobacco products that are under siege; Ghana‘s finances are also taking a major hit from the menace annually.

The impact of the prevalent tobacco consumption in Ghana goes beyond the lungs and liver. The nation’s wallet is drained of millions of Ghana Cedis every year, threatening the socio-economic development of the country.  

New insights from the Assistant Commissioner of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) in charge of Research and Policy, Dr. Alex Moyem Kombat, reveal that tobacco consumption is costing the country a staggering GHȻ 668 million every year.

These are monies that could fund the provision of hospital beds, repair your neighbourhood’s deplorable roads, provide chairs and tables in schools, or fund other critical infrastructure.

Dr. Alex Moyem Kombat says this is about 0.2% of Ghana’s GDP literally being burned in smoke.

In a paper titled “Implementation of Health Taxes in Ghana” copied to The High Street Journal, the Assistant Commissioner of the GRA broke the figures down, revealing that GHȻ 172 million of this financial hemorrhage is sunk into health-care expenditures.

More sadly, a chunk of the funds lost estimated to be about GHȻ 496 million, is lost in productivity. This means hours of labor are destroyed by disease, disability, and premature death linked to tobacco use.

“The economic cost associated with tobacco consumption is GHȻ 668 million per year equivalent to 0.2% of Ghana’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This, according to WHO, includes GHȻ 172 million in health-care expenditures and GHȻ 496 million in lost productivity,” Dr. Moyem Kombat indicated.

He further reveals that tobacco is not the only health-related menace draining the country’s coffers. The country is already choking under the economic burden of poor sanitation, which UNICEF estimates costs Ghana GHȻ 420 million annually.  

Fueling this national health and economic crisis is a booming demand for unhealthy products. This is partly attributed to Ghana’s vibrant and ever-expanding calendar of social gatherings: funerals, weddings, festivals, and naming ceremonies. These cultural mainstays, once celebrations of life, are fast becoming silent engines of disease, driving up consumption of alcohol, tobacco, and other harmful substances.

He notes that, “UNICEF indicates that poor sanitation costs Ghana about GHȻ 420 million annually, equivalent to US$290 million (i.e. US$12 per person per year and 1.6% of Ghana’s GDP). The increased demand and consumption of the unhealthy products is due to increased social programmes including funerals, weddings, festivals and naming ceremonies in the country in Ghana.”

Although Dr. Kombat recognizes that the government has responded with health taxes, including recent amendments to the Excise Duty Act, targeting alcohol, tobacco, sugary drinks, and plastics, he believes more needs to be done to address the situation.

He calls for stronger enforcement, behavioral change, and better public awareness, else these taxes will barely scratch the surface.

Without drastic reforms, just get to know that whenever a cigarette burns at a funeral or a bottle is passed at a party, remember it’s not just the liver, kidney, or lungs being affected, it’s Ghana’s scarce economic resources that are also under siege.

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