Jordani health ministry opposes cigarette price cut

Health Minister Abdullatif Wreikat said Jordan has gone along way in a crackdown on tobacco use through a set of executive legal procedures to enforce the public health law and his minister will vigorously press ahead in the fight against smoking. He told a World Health Organisation WHO team that the ministry has opposed a cabinet decision earlier this year sharply reducing the taxes on tobacco products and cigarettes, vowing to forge ahead with efforts to fight smoking "to curb its spread particularly among the underage or the youth." Referring to a decision by tobacco companies to cut cigarette prices, Wreikat said his ministry is against the measures "in line with a framework agreement to combat tobacco use." The delegation, led by regional director of the WHO's anti-tobacco program, Fatimah El-Awa, is visiting to discuss prices and taxes on tobacco products and other relevant matters.