Tuesday, November 27, 2012

50% Increase In Cigarette Price Can Help Avoid 40 Lakh Deaths Caused By Smoking!


A latest report disclosed by Asian Development Bank, a multilateral funding organization, reveals that a 50% increase in cigarette prices would help in preventing 4 million (40 lakh) tobacco related deaths in India. This report also makes it known that increasing cigarette cost by 50% would help in avoiding 20 million tobacco related deaths in China. Altogether, the report discloses that 50% hike in cigarette prices would help avoid a total of 27 million (2.7 crore) tobacco related deaths in several nations, including India and China.

The report discloses that Vietnam, Thailand, Philippines, India and China have emerged as the top five nations among the fifteen tobacco using countries that are responsible for two third of world tobacco use. According to the report, in India, 50% cigarette price increase results in 70-122% rise in taxes. Further, the report states that raising tobacco taxes in India and other top four tobacco consuming countries will ultimately result in lesser number of long-standing smokers and a fall in premature deaths caused by tobacco-related ailments. 

The report highlights that bidi is the general form of smoked tobacco in India. However, in the Indian subcontinent, cigarette smoking has gradually started to substitute bidi smoking. With that revelation, the report emphasizes on the need for governments to implement new cigarette tax regulations and at the same time maximize efforts to charge taxes on tobacco products on a broader basis. 

Source: The Times of India, dated 15th November 2012
Original Source: PTI

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