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Written By: Agencies | Updated : May 31, 2014 9:49 AM IST
May 31 is World No Tobacco Day.
As per data released by Dr Harsh Vardhan, Union Health Minister based on a study conducted by the Public Health Foundation of India with Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and World Health Organization
Objective of the study To estimate the economic burden of disease attributable to tobacco use in India and across the states. This study estimates the direct and indirect costs from all diseases caused due to tobacco use and cost of four major diseases namely cardiovascular, Cancer, respiratory and tuberculosis.
For India:
The total economic cost attributable to tobacco use from all disease in India in the year 2011 for persons aged 35-69 amounted to staggering 1,04,500 crores. Looking through GDP lens, this is 1.16 percent of GDP and 12 percent more than combined state and central Government expenditure on health care in 2011. The total central excise revenue from all tobacco products in the year 2011 -12 amounted to only 17 percent of the estimated economic cost of Tobacco. Cardiovascular diseases shared the highest burden (3600 crore) followed by respiratory diseases (2800 crore), Tuberculosis (2,300 crore) and cancers ( 1400 crore).
Estimated For Maharashtra from the Report
What can be done
India is unique in the range of tobacco products that are available at different price points. Tobacco taxes are low overall in India, and are especially low for the products consumed most widely. The result is that tobacco products have become increasingly affordable in India over the past decade.
'As per WHO, a tax increase of 10% would reduce tobacco consumption by 5% in LMIC. It has been shown in numerous studies that, as tax goes up, disease and death come down. Raising taxes on tobacco is a win win situation it increases the State revenue and decreases health costs' said Dr. P. C. Gupta, Director, Healis who consulted to this study. He said 'the tobacco companies can afford to pay much higher taxes than they are currently paying and even then, they will still do very well for themselves'
Dr. Chaturvedi lamented that 'the tax on Bidi is negligible that contributes to high disease burden and death. As a thumb rule, triple the taxes double the revenue and halve the consumption. The tax subsidy is only benefitting few politically powerful families that run the tobacco business. In fact, it is the cheapest 'poison' currently available in the market.'
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