Hike taxation, reduce affordability of tobacco products: VHAI

Noting that the percentage increase on excise on tobacco products is "minimal", a health body today asked Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to ensure significant increase in tobacco taxation and to reduce the affordability of such products.
"Increasing excise on tobacco products in the union budget is a welcome step by the government, however the percentage increase is minimal. We hope that the Finance Minister will ensure a significant increase in tobacco taxation and decrease in the affordability of tobacco products while finalising the GST reform," Bhavna Mukhopadhyay, Chief Executive, Voluntary Health Association of India (VHAI) said.
VHAI said that the most significant excise tax imposed on tobacco products is the Basic Excise Duty (BED) which represents between 80 per cent and 90 per cent of total excise taxes for all tobacco products.

However, the 2017-2018 budget instead of increasing the BED only made a small increase in the health cess for cigarettes and chewing tobacco, implying an average increase in the total excise tax imposed on these products of only 6 per cent, it said.
It estimated that the total economic costs attributable to tobacco use from all diseases in India in the year 2011 amounted to a staggering Rs 1,04,500 crores - 12 per cent more than the combined state and central government expenditure on health care in the same year.
Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) shared the highest burden (Rs 3,600 crore) of direct medical and indirect morbidity costs on account of tobacco use, followed by respiratory diseases (Rs 2,800 crore), tuberculosis (Rs 2,300 crore) and cancers (Rs 1,400 crore), it said quoting a report.

Tobacco-related diseases kill about 2,500 Indians daily and over 10 lakh Indians every year and it is estimated that about 5,500 youth and children (as young as age 8) initiate tobacco use daily.
India has 12 crore tobacco users, according to the Global Adult Tobacco Survey, it said.