Round table: "A Society Without Tobacco: Tax Policies and Public Health"

On World No Tobacco Day, a round table on the topic of "A Society Without Tobacco: Tax Policies and Public Health" was held in the hall of the Rectorate of the University of Banja Luka. The round table was an opportunity to present previous research results from the team of the Faculty of Economics of the University of Banja Luka in the field of taxing tobacco products, as well as the economic costs of smoking in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The research has been conducted since 2018 in partnership with the University of Illinois in Chicago, USA.

In addition to presenting the results, the round table gathered various stakeholders in the field of tobacco product control and anti-smoking efforts from both an economic and health aspect of this addiction disease. Representatives of the Committee for International Exchange of Medical Students of the Republic of Srpska - SaMSIC participated, who gave a presentation on the health consequences of smoking, as well as representatives from the Ministry of Health and Social Protection of the Republic of Srpska, Sara Dojcinovic, and from the Institute of Public Health of the Republic of Srpska, Dr. Dusanka Danojevic. Edwin Korman, a representative of the World Health Organization, joined the event in a virtual format and introduced the position of this international organization in the field of smoking control, as well as Mia Radovanovic, a representative of the EU delegation in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

During the discussion, participants put forward several proposals for reducing the prevalence of smoking in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is one of the leading countries in the world in this negative statistic. Their views and proposals were also put forward by representatives of the Fiscal Council of the Republic of Srpska, as well as Jasmina Cekric, on behalf of the PROI organization, which advocates limiting the use of tobacco products in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The round table was an opportunity to send a message about the harmfulness of tobacco and tobacco products on World No Tobacco Day, as well as ways to combat their consumption, in order to raise awareness about this extremely widespread problem in the country.