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Hisham Aljundi
Doha
The imposition of “sin tax” on tobacco products has started yielding positive results.The rise in prices of tobacco products and cigarettes has led many to quit smoking and others have been forced to cut down on consumption of these unhealthy products significantly.
According to shopkeepers, there is a significant decline in the sale of cigarettes as compared to the last year. “Earlier, we used to run out of cigarettes of certain brands very quickly and receive daily replacement. But, now we hardly sell any of those brands and they last in our stocks for many days,” said one shopkeeper.
Smokers who have been struggling to quit their habit have been forced to cut down on smoking since the increase in the price of cigarettes and other tobacco products.
“I managed to overcome the problem by smoking less cigarettes. I used to smoke a costly brand and then switched to another cheaper brand but didn’t like it so I had to go back to the previous brand but I’m consuming much less now,” said Jihad al Sayyed.
The “sin tax”, therefore, is having a positive and desirable impact. The very aim of the tax is to wean off people from unhealthy habits and it is gradually happening.
However, some habitual smokers are trying to skirt around the problem by choosing to go for cheaper brands.
“Some smokers can’t quit easily and have started to search for cheaper brands. But they don’t seem to like them and I think they will quit soon like some of my customers,” a shopkeeper said.
According to shopkeepers, some brands that were scarcely sold before are now finding customers.
“Even my old customers who used to buy two packets of cigarettes a day are hardly now buying one packet and sometimes one packet in two days, they have reduced the number of cigarettes they used to smoke,” a shopkeeper at Muntazah said.
Vape (e-cigarettes) has emerged as another alternative for cigarettes. Although it is illegal to sell vapes in Qatar, smokers are finding their way to these e-cigarettes.
“I have switched to vapes recently thinking that I will reduce the cost and find a healthier way than smoking cigarettes, but I also faced a problem with finding cartridge for them as they can’t be found in the markets in Qatar, it is all waste of money,” said Achraf Kthiri, a website developer at a private company.
Shopkeepers said shisha consumption has also declined significantly since the imposition of “sin tax”.
“We had customers buying shisha “Maasel” in large quantities at least twice a week. Now they buy one box per week, which means they are finding it more expensive to smoke it daily,” a tobacco products shop owner said.
Even shisha cafes are seeing less demand. Babu, who is responsible for preparing shisha at a popular cafe in Musheireb, said since the single shisha price was doubled from QR15 to QR30, the number of smokers has dropped significantly. “We still have large number of consumers during weekends, but during weekdays, the number of smokers has decreased and the smokers who used to smoke more than one have just reduced their intake to one only,” he added.
Doha
The imposition of “sin tax” on tobacco products has started yielding positive results.The rise in prices of tobacco products and cigarettes has led many to quit smoking and others have been forced to cut down on consumption of these unhealthy products significantly.
According to shopkeepers, there is a significant decline in the sale of cigarettes as compared to the last year. “Earlier, we used to run out of cigarettes of certain brands very quickly and receive daily replacement. But, now we hardly sell any of those brands and they last in our stocks for many days,” said one shopkeeper.
Smokers who have been struggling to quit their habit have been forced to cut down on smoking since the increase in the price of cigarettes and other tobacco products.
“I managed to overcome the problem by smoking less cigarettes. I used to smoke a costly brand and then switched to another cheaper brand but didn’t like it so I had to go back to the previous brand but I’m consuming much less now,” said Jihad al Sayyed.
The “sin tax”, therefore, is having a positive and desirable impact. The very aim of the tax is to wean off people from unhealthy habits and it is gradually happening.
However, some habitual smokers are trying to skirt around the problem by choosing to go for cheaper brands.
“Some smokers can’t quit easily and have started to search for cheaper brands. But they don’t seem to like them and I think they will quit soon like some of my customers,” a shopkeeper said.
According to shopkeepers, some brands that were scarcely sold before are now finding customers.
“Even my old customers who used to buy two packets of cigarettes a day are hardly now buying one packet and sometimes one packet in two days, they have reduced the number of cigarettes they used to smoke,” a shopkeeper at Muntazah said.
Vape (e-cigarettes) has emerged as another alternative for cigarettes. Although it is illegal to sell vapes in Qatar, smokers are finding their way to these e-cigarettes.
“I have switched to vapes recently thinking that I will reduce the cost and find a healthier way than smoking cigarettes, but I also faced a problem with finding cartridge for them as they can’t be found in the markets in Qatar, it is all waste of money,” said Achraf Kthiri, a website developer at a private company.
Shopkeepers said shisha consumption has also declined significantly since the imposition of “sin tax”.
“We had customers buying shisha “Maasel” in large quantities at least twice a week. Now they buy one box per week, which means they are finding it more expensive to smoke it daily,” a tobacco products shop owner said.
Even shisha cafes are seeing less demand. Babu, who is responsible for preparing shisha at a popular cafe in Musheireb, said since the single shisha price was doubled from QR15 to QR30, the number of smokers has dropped significantly. “We still have large number of consumers during weekends, but during weekdays, the number of smokers has decreased and the smokers who used to smoke more than one have just reduced their intake to one only,” he added.
