The value of Abu Dhabi’s trade in raw tobacco and manufactured tobacco products declined sharply in 2018 compared to 2017, reflecting the success of the decision to apply excise tax, media report said.

The UAE began applying excise tax on selected goods that are harmful to public health in October 2017, reported Emirates news agency Wam, noting that an excise tax of 100 percent was imposed on tobacco while percentages ranging from 50 percent to 100 percent were imposed on other products, such as carbonated drinks and energy drinks.

The total value of Abu Dhabi’s tobacco trade dropped to around Dh62.4 million ($17 million) from last year, compared to Dh410 million in 2017, according Statistics Centre-Abu Dhabi, SCAD.

The same statistics also show that most of the emirate’s tobacco trade was in the form of re-exports, valued at around Dh57.5 million in 2018, representing 92 percent of the total trade in tobacco products.

During the same year, imports of tobacco products were value at around Dh2.5 million while the value of exports amounted to only Dh2.4 million.

The final quarter of 2018 witnessed a decline in Abu Dhabi’s trade in tobacco and its derivatives by 53.4 percent.