The Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of the Imo State Health Insurance Agency (IMSHIA), Professor Uchenna Ewelike, has called for the introduction of “sin taxes” on tobacco products as a practical and sustainable approach to improving public health and strengthening healthcare financing in Nigeria.
Professor Ewelike made this call while presenting a paper titled “Health Tax & Externalities in Tobacco” at a technical session organized by the Nigerian Tobacco Control Alliance (NTCA).
The session, held at the Swiss International Hotels, Owerri, brought together policymakers, health experts, and key stakeholders to explore solutions for sustainable tobacco control financing.
In his presentation, he emphasized the negative externalities of tobacco use, noting that its impact goes beyond users to affect families, communities, and the broader health system through rising treatment costs and lost productivity.
He highlighted that tobacco-related deaths account for about 7 million annually worldwide, describing the burden as both catastrophic and impoverishing, particularly for households that bear high out-of-pocket healthcare expenses.
Importantly, it was also established during the session that tobacco is not an essential product but a matter of choice, largely a discretionary or luxury good, further strengthening the case for targeted taxation.
According to him, introducing sin taxes on tobacco offers a clear dual benefit: discouraging harmful consumption while generating revenue for the health sector.
Professor Ewelike, however, stressed the importance of accountability and policy clarity, recommending that government should include binding clauses to ensure that revenue generated from health taxes is used strictly for health purposes.
He also underscored the need for progressive taxation, explaining that health taxes should be structured around non-essential or luxury products, thereby protecting low-income populations from additional financial burden.
The session featured rich discussions on policy gaps, enforcement challenges, and innovative financing strategies, reinforcing the growing consensus on the need to align tobacco control efforts with broader health system strengthening goals.
