COLOMBO: In the light of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) articulation that the most effective method to reduce tobacco consumption is to increase the price through tax hike, Tobacco Free Kerala, along with other tobacco control groups in the country, has appealed for the highest tax on tobacco products to the GST council. The appeal is for the highest possible tax rate under GST on all types of tobacco products including cigarettes, bidis, smokeless tobacco, and pan masala in order to discourage their consumption and addiction. WHO’s 2015 report on global tobacco epidemic found India to be among the very few countries where cigarettes have become more affordable over the last few years.
India has the second largest number of tobacco users in the world with 275 million. Each year, about 1 million Indians die due to tobacco-related diseases and if current trends continue, tobacco will account for 13% of all deaths in India by 2020. An increase in tobacco prices by 10 % decreases tobacco consumption by 4 % in high-income countries and by about 6 % in lowand middle-income countries.
