The Kerala Budget 2013-14 has raised cigarettes by a token, from 15 per cent to 20 per cent, while it has left bidis taxes untouched. Bidis, which among the most harmful smoking products, continue to be zero VAT slab.
Tobacco control activists share their thoughts:
Justice K Narayana Kurup, Former Judge of Kerala High Court and the legal luminary behind the legendary smoking ban in Kerala in 1999 said, “It pains me to see that the Government has given low priority to an-all important public health issue when it comes to taxing tobacco products. Exempting bidi from taxes to safeguard the interest of the poor does not hold merit, as poor bidi smokers could lead a healthy and longer productive life if they can reduce consumption, brought out through tax-induced price hikes.”
“Our neighbouring Tamil Nadu is taxing bidis at 14.5 per cent, why can’t Kerala do the same?” Justice Kurup, also founder, Anti Tobacco Foundation, Kochi asks. “The tax increase on cigarette is also disappointing in a state which prides itself for its public health initiatives,” he added.
Adv A Sampath MP said, “Tobacco use is high in Kerala and controlling it is vital for prevention of non-communicable diseases. The use of tobacco reflects in the growing health risks among our people. I hope that the Government of Kerala will wake up to this worrisome factor and initiate measures to curb its use by levying higher taxes on all tobacco products.”
Dr Tiny Nair, Head, Department of Cardiology, PRS Hospital said, “Taxing tobacco products is a proven way to reduce consumption, as WHO studies have shown. There are 1.6 million bidi smokers in Kerala, who mostly belong to poorest socio-economic backgrounds. Taxing bidis, which are among the world’s most harmful smoking products, will contribute to bringing down use among bidi smokers. Irreplaceable lives can be safeguarded from untimely morbidity and mortality.”
Dr Nair adds that any reduced consumption brought out through increased tobacco taxes will also save non-smokers from the negative effects of passive smoking. “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 than the actual smoker. Revenues raised from higher taxes on tobacco products can finance large-scale tobacco cessation measures.”
Magician Gopinath Muthukkad who spreads anti-tobacco messages through magic said, “A man smoking in his house is in fact passing on unseen hardships to his family members including children. WHO figures show that worldwide 165,000 children have lost their lives to passive smoking.
Even though Indian tobacco control legislation COTPA has banned smoking in public places, it is poorly implemented. What we need to do is to make cigarettes and bidis unaffordable to the poor who bear the higher brunt of diseases that cripple their life and make them unproductive to eke out a living. This can be possible only by raising taxes on these products.”
“The courage shown by the Government to ban gutkha and pan masala in the state was praiseworthy. A similar people-oriented commitment is found missing in this Budget when it comes to taxing bidis and cigarettes,” Shri Muthukkad added.
Image courtesy various sites
Tobacco control activists share their thoughts:
Justice K Narayana Kurup, Former Judge of Kerala High Court and the legal luminary behind the legendary smoking ban in Kerala in 1999 said, “It pains me to see that the Government has given low priority to an-all important public health issue when it comes to taxing tobacco products. Exempting bidi from taxes to safeguard the interest of the poor does not hold merit, as poor bidi smokers could lead a healthy and longer productive life if they can reduce consumption, brought out through tax-induced price hikes.”“Our neighbouring Tamil Nadu is taxing bidis at 14.5 per cent, why can’t Kerala do the same?” Justice Kurup, also founder, Anti Tobacco Foundation, Kochi asks. “The tax increase on cigarette is also disappointing in a state which prides itself for its public health initiatives,” he added.
Adv A Sampath MP said, “Tobacco use is high in Kerala and controlling it is vital for prevention of non-communicable diseases. The use of tobacco reflects in the growing health risks among our people. I hope that the Government of Kerala will wake up to this worrisome factor and initiate measures to curb its use by levying higher taxes on all tobacco products.”Dr Nair adds that any reduced consumption brought out through increased tobacco taxes will also save non-smokers from the negative effects of passive smoking. “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 than the actual smoker. Revenues raised from higher taxes on tobacco products can finance large-scale tobacco cessation measures.”
Magician Gopinath Muthukkad who spreads anti-tobacco messages through magic said, “A man smoking in his house is in fact passing on unseen hardships to his family members including children. WHO figures show that worldwide 165,000 children have lost their lives to passive smoking. Even though Indian tobacco control legislation COTPA has banned smoking in public places, it is poorly implemented. What we need to do is to make cigarettes and bidis unaffordable to the poor who bear the higher brunt of diseases that cripple their life and make them unproductive to eke out a living. This can be possible only by raising taxes on these products.”
“The courage shown by the Government to ban gutkha and pan masala in the state was praiseworthy. A similar people-oriented commitment is found missing in this Budget when it comes to taxing bidis and cigarettes,” Shri Muthukkad added.
Image courtesy various sites
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