In a piece of information that will cause pain to all tobacco control activists in the country, domestic consumption of cigarettes in 2011-12 has recorded an increase of 4.19 per cent over the previous year.
In a written reply made to the Lok Sabha, Shri.Jyotiraditya Scindia, Hon'ble Minister of State for Commerce and Industry has said that domestic cigarette consumption during 2011-12 stood at 1,16,166 million sticks, as compared to 1,11,487 million sticks in 2010-11.
The domestic consumption (total number of units sold) in 2009-10 was 1,11,860 million sticks.
The Minister also informed the lower house that "manufactures of cigarettes and cigars using tobacco are subject to compulsory industrial licensing" and that "no industrial licence has been granted for manufacture of cigarettes since 1999, on ground of health".
But the claim of the Government to act in favour of public health is open to contest when one sees figures of tobacco-induced mortality in the country.
Tobacco use caused an estimated 120,000 deaths across India in 2010,according to a study on nation-wide cancer mortality carried out by the Toronto-based Centre for Global Health Research (CGHR), in partnership with Mumbai's Tata Memorial Hospital.
Source: Economic Times
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