Mere ban on gutkha not going to curb consumption

In a discussion between the Central and state tax department officials and doctors from Tata Memorial Hospital (TMH) in Parel, what emerged was that curbing consumption of tobacco products was far more complex than simply banning gutkha. They were addressing the problems related to illicit trade of tobacco products.

Two years ago, Maharashtra had banned manufacturing and sale of gutkha and pan masala. Dr Kailash Sharma, director (academics), TMH said: "The rate of a gutkha packet was Rs2, but now, gutkha is smuggled from border states and sold for up to Rs20 a packet."

Every day, TMH sees up to 100 new cancer patients, of which 40% belong to the head and neck cancer department, which are primarily caused by cancer consumption.

Rajiv Jalota, Maharashtra commissioner (sales tax) said that India is the second largest consumer of tobacco in the world, in smoking and non-smoking forms and the third largest producer of tobacco and tobacco-related products. According to the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS), there are an estimated 27.5 crore tobacco users in India.

In Rajasthan, Value Added Tax (VAT) on all tobacco-related products is levied up to 65%, while in Gujarat, it is up to 40%. On the contrary, the tax structure in Maharashtra on tobacco and related products is very poor, complained the doctors. "Only up to 25% tax is levied on cigarettes while bidis in Maharashtra attract tax as low as 12.5%," said Dr Pankaj Chaturvedi, professor, head and neck cancer department, TMH.

Dr Pankaj Chaturvedi said, "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 a few politically powerful families that run the tobacco business. In fact, it is the cheapest 'poison' currently available in the market."

What you need to know about tobacco
Tobacco has 70 chemicals considered to be 'carcinogenic, i.e. cancer-causing agents
Smoking causes cancers of the head and neck, lung, bladder, kidneys, pancreas and colon
Each year, about 10 lakh cancer patients are reported, of which 2.5 lakh belong to the head and neck category, and 63,000 new lung cancer cases.