Deputy Minister of Health: Smokers Should Pay for Their Hospitalization Costs

The Deputy and Spokesman of the Ministry of Health, Treatment, and Medical Education stated that due to the low price of cigarettes in Iran compared to 181 countries worldwide, smokers in the country should bear their own hospitalization costs. According to Tasnim News Agency, Iraj Harirchi announced this at the 47th press conference of the Ministry of Health on Tuesday, October 3, stating that annually, 500,000 hospitalizations occur due to smoking-related ailments, imposing significant costs on insurance companies and the government. He added, 'We need to move towards a system where smokers pay for their own hospitalizations so that the costs of unhealthy behaviors do not burden others.' Harirchi also expressed regret that 'over 10 trillion tomans' are wasted annually on cigarettes. He noted that in other countries, cigarette prices include over 70% in taxes, and 'for every 10% increase in cigarette taxes, there is a 5% decrease in cigarette consumption.' Harirchi criticized the lack of deterrent laws in Iran, mentioning that 'in Tehran, a restaurant was shut down seven times for offering hookah, but it reopened after paying 500,000 tomans.' He also pointed out that although selling cigarettes to individuals under 18 is prohibited, 'it is not properly enforced, and some provinces do not cooperate at all.' In June of this year, a health official stated that Iran ranks just above Afghanistan in terms of tobacco taxation in the region and called for a sevenfold increase in cigarette taxes. Khosrow Sadeghniyat, head of the Ministry of Health's Environmental and Occupational Health Center, mentioned that the Ministry proposed a 25% tax on retail tobacco products to the parliament, which was rejected. According to this official, 'the tax on domestic cigarettes is about 10% of the factory price.' He added, 'The price difference between a pack of cigarettes at the factory and retail is significant, with profits going to tobacco brokers.' These brokers, according to this health official, 'influence and hinder successful anti-tobacco campaigns.' Currently, nearly 7.7 million people in Iran consume various tobacco products, and 4% of all deaths among those over 30 are attributed to tobacco use. Based on survey results partially published last year, alcohol is the second most consumed substance in Iran after cigarettes. The consumption of hookah and other substances ranks next, but no data has been released on their figures and statistics.