Colombian Groups Warn of “Lack of Balance” in Vaping Tax Discussions
Colombian health organizations criticize tobacco/vape industry presence in congressional panel discussing new tax bill, citing WHO FCTC.
Civil society organizations Fundación Anáas and Red PaPaz have criticized the composition of a technical panel in Colombia’s Congress convened to discuss bills updating taxes on tobacco and vaping products. They allege a “lack of balance” due to the prominent presence of tobacco and vape industry representatives, including major companies like British American Tobacco and Philip Morris, alongside groups such as the World Vapers’ Alliance.
The organizations argue that this setup lacks sufficient participation from key bodies like the Ministry of Finance and independent public health and fiscal experts free from industry conflicts of interest. They contend this “clear interference” by industry players in designing tobacco control policy, specifically taxation, contravenes Colombia’s obligations under the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), which mandates protecting such policies from industry interests.
The bill under discussion, already approved in its second reading, aims to update excise taxes on manufactured tobacco, explicitly including vaping products. Anáas and Red PaPaz support the current version’s proposed tariff levels, believing they offer significant public health benefits and fiscal sustainability. They urge lawmakers not to reverse this progress and to ensure policy decisions are free from undue industry influence, especially given high rates of youth initiation into smoking and vaping in Colombia.
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