The Gambia Revenue Authority (GRA) has called for closer cooperation between tax and health authorities to use tobacco taxation as a tool to reduce smoking and prevent non-communicable diseases.

Yankuba Darboe, Commissioner General of the GRA, said tobacco taxes should not be judged only by how much revenue they generate, arguing that their wider purpose should be to make cigarettes less affordable and discourage people from smoking. Mr Darboe was speaking at the National Public Health Convergence 2.0, organised by the Association of Public and Environmental Health Officers of The Gambia (APEHOG).

The convergence was held under the theme "Securing Tomorrow: Strengthening Public Health through Science, Innovation and Sustainable Interventions in The Gambia."

Mr Darboe said the main objectives of tobacco taxation should include preventing young people from taking up smoking and encouraging existing smokers to reduce consumption or quit.

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"Success" should therefore also be measured by whether fewer people start smoking, whether smokers reduce consumption or quit, and whether the health burden associated with tobacco use is reduced," he said.

The Gambia introduced a specific excise tax of D5 per pack of 20 cigarettes in 2013, moving away from a system largely based on the weight of cigarettes. According to Mr Darboe, the tax has since increased to D45 per pack, while an environmental tax has evolved from a weight-based charge to D9.22 per pack. A Tobacco Control Levy was also introduced at D0.20 per pack and subsequently increased.

Mr Darboe said figures from the GRA showed that tobacco imports fell from about 1.12 million kilograms in 2012 to 440,000kg in 2016, a decline of roughly 60 per cent. At the same time, he said, government revenue from tobacco increased from about D155 million to D420 million.

He said the figures showed that public-health objectives and domestic revenue mobilisation could be pursued at the same time. Mr Darboe also raised concerns about the use of money collected through the Tobacco Control Levy.

He said the levy was established to support tobacco-control activities, including prevention and public education, but acknowledged concerns within the health sector about access to some of the funds. He said the GRA would continue to collect and account for the money in accordance with the law.

At the same time, he called on government institutions to establish mechanisms to ensure that funds intended for tobacco control contribute to those programmes. He said closer cooperation between the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs, the GRA, the World Health Organisation and other stakeholders would be necessary.