The Alcohol and Drug Information Centre (ADIC) claimed that due to the 20% increase in alcohol taxes in 2023, alcohol (pure) consumption has decreased by 8.3 million litres, and that the Government’s alcohol excise revenue has increased by Rs. 11.6 billion. The ADIC also claimed that the Government’s excise revenue from cigarettes has increased by Rs. 7.7 billion in 2023, while cigarette sales have decreased by Rs. 521.5 million.

The ADIC made this claim while issuing a statement regarding the use of alcohol and cigarettes and the increase in taxes. Accordingly, the excise taxes were increased this month .

“Alcohol use causes nearly 15,000 premature deaths in Sri Lanka each year, while smoking kills nearly 20,000 people annually. The number of deaths from non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in our country has now increased to 80%. Two of the four main factors affecting NCDs are smoking and alcohol use. Alcohol is a carcinogen and even small amounts of alcohol consumption increase a person’s risk of cancer. Statistics show that the health and economic costs of alcohol and the amount of tax collected from alcohol have not been able to cover the economic and health-related costs of alcohol. According to a study conducted in 2022, the economic and health costs of alcohol are Rs. 237 billion while the alcohol-related tax revenue that year was Rs. 165.2 billion. The excise duty on the cigarette category with the highest sales in the market has increased by Rs. 4.51; however, its price has increased by Rs. 10. The additional profit that the cigarette industry will receive from this tax increase is approximately Rs. 7,000 million.”