The State Finance Minister has got hold of the wrong end of the stick with respect to taxing cigarettes, beedis and tobacco products, say health activists.
The decision to stand pat on beedi taxes and only a token increase in the case of cigarettes in the State Budget 2013-14 is baffling given a surge in tobacco-induced diseases in the State, they say.
WHO GUIDELINE
Proposed hike in taxes on cigarettes from 15 to 20 per cent is far below the WHO recommendation of 65-70 per cent of retail prices.
WHO best practices also have it that tax rates should be the same across all tobacco products (cigarettes, beedis and smokeless items) to prevent a crossover between and amongst them.
Justice K. Narayana Kurup, former Judge of high court and who declared a smoking ban in the State, said it was sad that low priority has been given to a pressing public health issue.
“Tamil Nadu is taxing beedis at 14.5 per cent, why can’t Kerala do the same?” Justice Kurup, also founder of Anti-Tobacco Foundation, Kochi, wondered.
OTHER STATES
“The tax increase on cigarette is also disappointing in a State which prides itself on its public health initiatives,” he added.
Rajasthan, which has a literacy rate of 67.06 per cent, far below the national average of 74.04 per cent, has raised taxes on all tobacco products from 50 per cent to 65 per cent.
Airing similar views, A. Sampath, MP, said that tobacco use is high in Kerala. Controlling it is vital for prevention of tobacco-induced diseases.
“I hope that the State Government will wake up to this worrisome factor and initiate measures to curb its use by levying higher taxes on all tobacco products,” Sampath said.
According to Tiny Nair, head, department of cardiology, PRS Hospital, taxing tobacco products is a proven method to reduce consumption, as WHO studies have shown.
There are 1.6 million beedi smokers in Kerala, who mostly belong to poor socio-economic backgrounds. Beedis are among the world’s most harmful smoking products.
Reduction in consumption will also save non-smokers from the negative effects of passive smoking, Nair added. “Passive smoking is not some third person singular number anymore; it affects each one of us.”
The particles in the unfiltered smoke that drifts from burning cigarette are finer and more concentrated, thus increasing their capacity to penetrate deeper and stay longer in the lungs of a passive smoker.
“Revenues raised from higher taxes on tobacco products can finance large-scale tobacco cessation measures,” Nair said.
MAGIC FORMULA
Magician Gopinath Muthukad who uses his vocation to spread awareness against tobacco use, said WHO figures showed that worldwide 1.65 lakh children have lost their lives to passive smoking.
Even though Indian tobacco control legislation bans smoking in public places, it is poorly implemented.
The current smoking prevalence of 27.9 per cent in the State is significantly higher than 24.3 per cent for the whole of India, according to Global Adult Tobacco Survey 2009-10.
More than 45 per cent cancers in the State are born from tobacco use and over 55 per cent of diabetes patients are tobacco users.