New tobacco tax in Nunavut pushes down sales
Ottawa, Apr 16 (IBNS): Tobacco sales in Nunavut declined a year after a new tax was introduced there, media reports said.
Cost of a pack of cigarettes increased by about one dollar after the introduction of the tax in March last year.
Taxes on loose tobacco and chewing tobacco increased by 20 cents per gram.
Nunavut tobacco sales declined two per cent year-over-year. There was a decline in sales of loose tobacco by 29 per cent, while chewing tobacco sales declined 15 per cent.
"We take it as a good news story," said Daniel Young, the director of fiscal policy for the territorial government.
"The more people that we can prevent from starting to smoke, the more smokers we can encourage to smoke less, is great."
The territory has Canada's highest smoking rates, estimated at 62 per cent in 2014 Statistics Canada data.
According to a territorial government representative, in 2016, an estimated nine out of 10 pregnant women in the territory smoke.
Anti-smoking rules, said Young, caused the decline in sales of tobacco, adding that despite decline in sales, the government was able to collect an extra $3 million in revenue due to the tax.
(Reporting by Asha Bajaj)
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