Smoking costs Senegal 185 million euros

According to the Pan-African Institute for Citizenship, Consumers and Development (CICODEV), smoking costs the Senegalese government more than €185 million per year (122 billion CFA francs). In response to this situation, several NGOs in the country are calling for the implementation of a tax policy on tobacco products..

The 185 million euros of annual expenditure is divided into two distinct costs. On the one hand, 113 million euros (74 billion CFA francs) are allocated each year to the treatment of pathologies associated with smoking, while the remainder (73 million euros, or 48 billion CFA francs) is explained by losses in productivity at work caused each year by tobacco consumption. For comparison, revenues related to tobacco are estimated at approximately 37 million euros per year (24 billion CFA francs). Thus, tax revenues from tobacco products are three times lower than the expenditures of the Senegalese public authorities for the sole treatment of pathologies that the consumption of these products causes. Furthermore, these costs associated with smoking do not take into account the other negative externalities of smoking, such as the environmental costs associated with tobacco (water pollution, soil pollution, etc.).

45% of deaths in Senegal are due to non-communicable diseases

In view of this fiscal imbalance, CICODEV and The Senegalese League Against Tobacco have joined forces to call for the implementation of a tax on tobacco products to finance the fight against non-communicable diseases, such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases, pulmonary pathologies, etc. As CICODEV points out, all non-communicable diseases are responsible for 45% of deaths in Senegal, and cost the Senegalese taxpayer more than 350 million euros. However, despite the importance of smoking in the development of non-communicable diseases and in mortality in the country, the Ministry of Health only dedicates 40,000 euros to the fight against tobacco.

A country at the forefront in the fight against smoking

Despite extremely limited investment in tobacco control, Senegal is one of the most advanced countries in Africa in this area. In recent years, the country has banned the sale of tobacco to minors or within 200 meters of a school or hospital. Senegal has also banned the consumption of tobacco products in public places, the sale of single cigarettes, and all forms of tobacco advertising. Finally, 70% of the surface of tobacco packages are now covered with health warnings. The country, which has incorporated into its legislation the obligation to protect its public policies from the influence of the tobacco industry, is currently revising its legislation to strengthen it, particularly with regard to smoking bans and the consideration of new products.