Journalism of Courage
Women and child welfare organisations across the country have welcomed the Union finance minister’s announcement to increase the national calamity contingent duty (NCCD) on cigarettes to 16 per cent in the Union Budget 2023-24. Appreciative of the government’s decision to make cigarettes less affordable, they are now making an appeal to increase tax on beedis and smokeless tobacco products as well.
While presenting the Union Budget in Parliament on February 1, the Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Nirmala Sitharaman, proposed to revise NCCD on specified cigarettes upwards by about 16 per cent. The NCCD on specified cigarettes was last revised three years ago.
“We welcome the step. The increase in NCCD on cigarettes though nominal has raised our hopes that the government will consider looking at increasing cess on all tobacco products including beedi and smokeless tobacco in the next GST Council meeting,” said Varsha Deshpande, convenor, Women and Child Rights Organisation (WCRO).
The WCRO is a coalition of community-based organisations (CBOs) working in eight states – Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and West Bengal – and in the Union Territories of Puducherry and Chandigarh for the health and wellbeing of women and children including tobacco control.
The present GST rates on tobacco products combined with the compensation cess for all tobacco products is much lower than the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommended tax burden of at least 75 per cent of the retail price for all tobacco products. The total tax burden is currently only about 53 per cent for cigarettes, 22 per cent for bidis, and 60 per cent for smokeless tobacco, she pointed out.
Experts worldwide in various international journals have suggested raising the price of tobacco products through tax increases as the most effective policy to reduce tobacco use. Higher tobacco prices decrease affordability, encourage quitting among users, prevent initiation among non-users, and reduce the quantity consumed among continuing users.
Dr Pritam Munde, Member of Parliament from Beed, Maharashtra, in a statement said: “The Union Budget this time reflects a sustainable approach to growth. An increase in tax on cigarettes after three years illustrates that. In the coming years, with stronger laws, we can bring down tobacco use in the country and protect women and children from the health hazards of tobacco use and exposure to second-hand smoke.”
The Parliament Standing Committee on Health had earlier submitted a report on Cancer Care Plan and Management, in which it undertook a study of the causes of cancer in the country and noted that in India “the highest number of lives lost is due to oral cancer caused by tobacco, followed by cancer of the lungs, oesophagus, and stomach.” It also noted that tobacco use is one of the most prominent risk factors associated with cancer. In view of these alarming observations, the Committee has noted that India has one of the lowest prices for tobacco products and there is a need to increase taxes on tobacco products.
India has the second largest number (268 million) of tobacco users in the world and of these 13 lakh die every year from tobacco-related diseases. Tobacco use accounts for almost 50 per cent of all cancers in India according to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare report.
