Oman to increase tax on tobacco

The tax on tobacco in the Sultanate of Oman is set to double, according to senior officials at Oman’s Ministry of Health, Omani daily Times of Oman reported.

 

The increase in tax came as part of Oman’s newly-launched National Multisectoral Plan for Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs).

 

According to the NCDs, tobacco use is of the highest priority of five primary risk factors the plan will focus on.

 

The price of cigarettes in Oman currently stands at an average of $2.7 per packet, with the new hike to bring it up to roughly $9.

 

“There are different plans: One is spreading awareness, another is laws that limit smoking in enclosed areas, and then there are increased taxes on tobacco and smoking. These work together to make smoking more difficult. When you are aware that if you smoke, you will encounter heart disease and cancer, you have to think not once or twice, but three times,” a senior official at Oman’s Royal Hospital told the Times of Oman.

 

In 2016, Oman raised the tax on tobacco by 100 percent, along with other GCC states.